Heroes of the Past and Present
by Nature9000
Summary: The Vega sisters grew up listening to stories of their ancestor's heroic actions in saving the world. The believed the story to be a fictional legend and nothing more, until a dangerous magician threatening the world reveals the stories to be closer to reality than fiction. Trina and Tori must save their ancestor in the past, then return to save the world from another dark era.
1. Prologue: Bedtime Stories

Hero of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: So something a little different, a nod towards the fantasy genre too, I guess. For those of you that don't know Dragon Age 2, look it up on youtube and google. It is my favorite PS3 game and I am basing this on my playthrough as Sarah Hawke, ancestor of Tori and Trina Vega. The idea is that during the final battles, a descendant of both Meredith and Orsino will use magic to travel back in time and put the ancestor into a specific spellbound sleep in which only one of her descendants can break. That being said, the sisters must fight to save Kirkwall's past and then upon their return to the present day, rescue the land once more from the descendent threatening to take the town over.

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Chapter 1 (Prologue: Bedtime Story)

Two young children laughed amid their dark bedroom, still awake well past their bedtime. Trina and Tori Vega, nine and seven years old respectively were playing their Pokémon games on their Gameboys and ignoring the clock. It was about ten and bedtime was at eight-thirty.

"Pikachu is so _cute!"_ Tori squealed. Trina agreed, despite being more interested in other games like the Legend of Zelda, or Castlevania. She was more into adventure and sword games, Tori was more into the cute and cuddly type of games. Though, both enjoyed a good game of Super Mario Bros, Kirby's Dreamland, or even Yoshi's Island.

They were busy trading their Pokémon, Tori was trading a Charmander for a Pikachu. The trading wire stretched across the five foot gap between their beds, and both had their screens lit up with mini-light. The transaction was half-complete when Trina noticed the hallway light under the door turn on. She let out a gasp and whispered sharply to her sister.

"Someone's up! Quick, under the covers!" They wasted no time jumping beneath their blankets and closing their eyes. They were holding their Gameboys face down at their sides, but had forgotten about the cord that was still attached. Just as they closed their eyes, the door began to crack open.

Trina heard her father's heavy footsteps enter the room, despite the man trying to be as quiet as possible. David Vega was a Lieutenant in the Las Vegas Police Department, a hard worker, but perhaps the most caring father.

He put his hands to his hips, humming slightly as he began to smirk."Aw how sweet," he whispered, "They think I don't know they're still awake…" He shook his head and began to sit on the edge of the bed. "Oh what will your mother and I do with you girls? We may have to send you to a boarding school…"

With a start, Trina shot up, throwing her covers back. "What?! No!" Tori followed quick after her sister, letting out her own protest. Seeing the smirk on her father's face, Trina bowed her head, realizing they'd just been tricked. Tori, on the other hand, leapt from her bed and rushed to Trina's side, throwing her arms around her.

"No separating us, Daddy!"

"Don't worry girls, you're safe." He took their game consoles and carried them to the end table between their beds. They watched, forlorn, as he turned off the consoles and pushed them into the drawer. "You girls know that bedtime means bedtime. It's late and you have school in the morning."

"But we can't _sleep_, Daddy."

"Yeah, we don't want to sleep," Trina threw her arms around her dad's neck before he could get away from them. As he rose up, she rose up with him. He had to move his arms around his back and her legs to prevent her from falling off. He looked back with a laugh. "We missed you while you were at work."

"Ah, I missed you girls too. I'm home, safe, and you girls can sleep tight because you know Daddy's always going to be here." He leaned back on the bed, letting her drop off his back and onto the bed. With that, he got up and pulled the covers up to her neck. She stared at him and Tori moved to her own bed, still unable to sleep herself. Their father folded his arms across his chest and lifted his eyebrows. "Well…you have to sleep one way or another. Maybe if I read you a bedtime story?" The girls lit up, immediately enthusing over the idea of a story. He was a great storyteller and usually told them a story every night. Often it was about knights, dragons, magic users and Templars. He claimed that these stories were real, that the people in there were their ancestors. Trina admired her 'ancestor', Sarah Hawke. She stood up for a country called Kirkwall within the 'Free Marches' as it was called, and she helped to stop a battle between the 'mages' and the 'templars', led by Orsino the First Enchanter and Meredith the Knight Commander. Both had become insane and were leading Kirkwall to ruin, but Sarah Hawke and her companions put a stop to that.

"Tell us more about Sarah, Daddy?" David raised an eyebrow and started to open the bottom drawer of the end table. Inside was a very old and tattered book with a symbol that looked like a sun, David said it was the mark of the 'Chantry'. In the olden days, a Chantry was basically the ancestor of today's nunneries. This book was handed down by one of Sarah Hawke's companions, a dwarf named Varric.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt if it gets you girls to go to sleep."

"We promise to sleep after this." Trina bat her eyelashes and pouted her lip, earning a laugh from her father. Tori hugged her large teddy bear and looked up to her father with wide, pleading eyes. Together, these girls were unstoppable, their father couldn't resist.

"All right, all right…" David turned on the bedside lamp and sat on the edge of Trina's bed, opening the book up in his lap. Tori moved back from her bed and cuddled beside Trina. Trina put an arm around her sister's shoulders and gazed with eagerness at the book. "So where did we leave off…" He found the bookmark and inhaled. "All right, here we go girls."

"Yay!"

"Now. Of our ancestor's companions, you remember them. Aveline, the guard captain and perhaps Sarah's right hand, best warrior, and closest friend…" Trina sat up and started to lean forward, her heart beating in her chest as she anticipated the continuation of the tale, she remembered all of the companions by heart of course.

"I remember, Daddy. Sarah used two daggers to fight, right? There were two archers, two mages, another fighter with daggers, and two warriors. Right?"

"Correct, but don't forget her sister Bethany, who was taken by the Templars to join the Circle of Mages. She didn't fight alongside her sister until the end, but those two girls were like you and your sister, with a bond that could never truly be broken." Tori squeezed Trina, squealing delightedly. Trina hugged her sister back, still looking towards her father. "Now the companions…The archer you remember is Varric, the dwarf and Sebastian. He was the former prince of a neighboring country, Starkhaven. The other warrior was Fenris, a former elven slave imprisoned by blood mages." She scrunched her nose at the term blood mage. A blood mage was someone that used live blood with magic, they could drain an enemy of their blood to power themselves up or use other powerful spells. First Enchanter Orsino was a blood mage, for instance.

"Merrill was a good blood mage though, right?"

Merrill was one of the two mages that were on the team, she was also of the elven race. "Yes, but she never used blood magic while with your ancestor." The other mage was Anders, a shady character who ended up leading Knight Commander Meredith to start massacring all mages. In the end, Meredith and Orsino both just wanted to seize control of Kirkwall on their own after losing their king. "The other person that used daggers was also perhaps one of Sarah's best friends, a pirate captain named Isabela."

"Awesome!"

"Now, we left off, Anders had just blown up the Chantry. Our ancestor Sarah was left with the option of executing the mass murderer or allowing him to fight alongside. However, he wouldn't join because Sarah did not agree with all mages and their fight. She didn't agree with the Templars either, because all Meredith was doing was massacring innocents."

"Both Meredith and that First Enchanter guy were evil!" Tori declared while huddling closer to Trina. The stories sometimes gave Tori nightmares, but oddly enough, she loved to hear the tales.

"Yeah, but it's all fictional," Trina assured with a smile. "Magic, elves, and Templars don't exist in real life. Right, Daddy?" She looked to him for confirmation. He lifted his head from the book and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh Templars were very real, there are centuries upon centuries of stories to be told of them. The rest? Well it's all history, legend. No one knows if these people truly existed or not."

"Surely someone would know?"

"Oh some would." He flashed a smirk and Trina tilted her head towards the right, she was confused by this gesture. Her father returned to the storybook and shrugged his shoulders. "Now the story goes, after Anders was killed. Sarah fought through the cities of Kirkwall with two of her main companions fighting at her side."

"Where is Bethany?" Tori inquired. While Trina's favorite was Sarah, Tori was always favoring Bethany. The story goes that the two sisters were separated emotionally when Sarah had to go on some deep roads expedition and didn't take Bethany with her. Bethany was taken by the Circle and unable to see her sister for some time. They met up every now and then, but there was always some amount of separation and tension between the two, perhaps until the very end. However, Bethany _always_ needed her sister, just as Sarah did. This was just as Tori always needed _her_ sister, and vice versa.

"Sarah sided with the Templars, so Bethany went with Orsino, siding with the mages." Tori's face fell and Trina shook her head. Bethany was a mage, obviously, so it made sense that she would side with them. Yet, from the accounts in the story, almost every mage was a dangerous blood mage, except for Bethany, Merrill and Anders. They didn't use blood magic, despite Merrill in the beginning and having the option of it.

"I'll always side with Trina! Even if she were against me…" Trina gave her a smile and David quickly nodded.

"Well that is good, you two are sisters. Nothing, and nobody, should ever come between that. Now…" He turned a page in his book and cleared his throat, "Back to the story."

Trina leaned forward with excitement, "They were fighting through Kirkwall!"

"Yes, heading towards The Gallows. When they arrived, Meredith had Orsino and the mages on retreat. Bethany asked her sister why she was siding with Meredith, if she was against her as well, to which Sarah replied that she wasn't against her sister…but she didn't agree with either side. Orsino and Bethany parted. Sarah, Merrill and Aveline, who were right by her side, were forced to follow after. After some time, Meredith came by with Knight Captain Cullen, her second in command, with two captive mages. Cullen declared their innocence and Meredith wanted them dead. Sarah asked if they were innocent and declared Cullen correct, to which, Meredith did not kill them and only scowled at not getting their way."

"Sarah was an aristoc-c-cratic person, right?" Tori asked.

"Yes, remember, she was the Champion of Kirkwall, having saved the country once before from an invasion. She was very respected by both Meredith and Orsino, but neither liked that she had to be the one quelling their feud. Now, they continued on until they met up with Orsino and Bethany…"

The girls were on the edge of their seats, curious over what happened to Bethany. They didn't want to see sister fight sister, but they feared it would happen. Seeing the intrigue and concern in their eyes, David grinned and continued onwards. "Well, it turns out Orsino used blood magic to turn himself into this grotesque creature, but only after admitting that he was the one who knew of the man that wound up killing the mother of Sarah and Bethany some years before." Tori gasped and Trina's eyes began to widen. "At that point, Bethany joined Sarah's side in fighting this monster that the man had become. After a grueling battle, Meredith turned onto Sarah, ordering Bethany be struck down-"

"No!" Tori clutched Trina harder, practically cutting off circulation. Trina gagged and Tori instantly loosened. "Sarah wouldn't do it! She wouldn't! Say she doesn't kill her sister." David lifted a finger, closing his eyes as confidence filled his face.

"Ah but you're right, Tori." Trina started to smile as her sister relaxed, thus releasing the remaining death grip she had on her arm. "Sarah turned to Meredith and said, 'I will not strike my sister, you will not touch her.' Meredith stormed off and the two sisters shared an embrace. Afterwards, they found Meredith with Cullen in the main part of the Gallows, it was there Meredith intended to have the Champion killed. Cullen started to turn against her and Meredith's insanity and paranoia reached its peak as she began to accuse even her own men of being influenced by the power of blood magic. A fight broke out once more, all of Sarah's companions came to her aid, and the two sisters fought side-by-side against all of Meredith's might. The bond between them was strong enough that they rose above Meredith, sealing the woman's fate."

"Yes!" Tori threw her hands into the air, cheering. Trina was overwhelmed with pride, as well as relief, grateful that Kirkwall had been saved. It was strange, that country always seemed to be attacked by _something_. "What happened after that?" David closed the book and looked to his daughters with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Cullen and the Templars bowed to Sarah, they placed her as the Viscount, which means ruler, of Kirkwall. This was a short time though, after a while, she and all of her companions left Kirkwall and went their separate ways. No one knows where they all are now, their descendants, but we know Sebastian remained at Sarah's side and unified Starkhaven and Kirkwall upon their marriage."

"So she married the prince archer?" Trina raised an eyebrow and squinted her eyes, wondering how that marriage worked. Sebastian had been a man of the chantry, the marriage was a 'chaste' marriage. "He's our ancestor? But I thought-" Tori's eyes widened and David quickly put his finger to his lips.

"Those two had a love that was beyond anything you could ever imagine, my dear. I'm sure, in time, you know…you'll find things out when you get older."

"I already know, Daddy."

"Why?"

"Mom watches a lot of soaps while you're at work…"

"You don't say?" David raised an eyebrow and looked to the door, then shook his head. "Anyway! Back to this. In Varric's own words…news of the slaughter in Kirkwall spread all over the world, the Circle of Mages rose up and a war between the Mages and Templars broke out. It would end much later, but that's a story for another day."

"No one else remembers the story?"

"There are people I'm sure, Trina. It's legend now, happening so long ago, but there _are_ records of these people existing. I don't know about the elves, the war between the mages and Templars was said to have wiped out mages, though there might be people even today who use magic. You never know. If not for the actions of Sarah Hawke, her sister and companions, Kirkwall…this very _world_ would be a much different place than we know it today. There are reasons the story is legend and so few know it, because if the wrong person knew of it, they could take advantage of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…it is known that Meredith and Orsino had a child together years before all of this. If their descendant were around today, they would know magic and potentially try to take Kirkwall once more. Maybe not, you never know. Some say Hawke's story is incomplete, or that there's more to it, but who am I to say? I'm just a father telling his two children a bedtime story." The girls cuddled beneath the blanket as their father leaned forward and kissed their foreheads. "Now get some sleep all right? Big day of school tomorrow."

"Yep. Goodnight daddy!" They waited as their father left the room and shut the door behind them. Tori cuddled closer to Trina, hugging her waist.

"Tri-tri, we're like Sarah and Bethany right? Nothing can get between us?"

"Right."

"Promise we'll always be that way?"

"Don't worry Tori, I wouldn't dream of it being different." She didn't know what Tori was worried about, she didn't think anything would separate them. Her mind was more on her alleged ancestor. She closed her eyes, smiling as she began to dream of the strong, powerful woman who may have inadvertently saved the world. She was independent, strong, knew what she wanted to be, and Trina wanted to be just like that when she grew up.

Ten years later, in a faraway country known today as Sviederbach, a raven haired woman slithered through castle walls in pursuit of an ancient book. This woman's name was Erin, she had piercing dark eyes and a long black dress. Her hands and arms were covered in drops of blood, powering her and strengthening her.

Upon reaching a tall door, she met a guard standing with a sword in hand. He narrowed his eyes at the woman and prepared himself to attack. "Who, may I ask, are you?"

"Erin Lamont." She extended her arms and the guard began to lift off the ground. He started to scream in painful agony as blood slowly dripped from his pores. Erin narrowed her eyes, slicking her tongue along her lips as she twisted her fingers and listened to the crunching noises of the man's bones. "I am one of the few blood mages that remain in this world…and I've come to claim what's rightfully _mine."_

The guard's screams were unheard and his body landed with a thud on the concrete floor. Erin started to smirk as she made her way towards the door, glancing off into the darkness to be sure no others were coming. Her palm hovered over the doorknob and magic began to pour into it, destroying whatever powerful mechanisms were keeping people out.

Once complete, the door flew open to reveal a small dark room with one light overhead a tall podium. On that podium was a leather book, the only other book of its kind. "Two exist in this world. I don't know where the other is, but I have found what is mine…My ancestors were wrongfully killed by the hand of the Hawke…I will go back and make things right. Kirkwall will be ours again." She put her hands to the glass case around the book, then watched as it dissolved. With a sinister chuckle, she lowered her hands to the book. "Next, the world…"

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So before we really jump into the action we're obviously going to see how the girls and the friends are faring now. I hope you'll enjoy this (and give it a chance), because it's set to be good. Let me know if you think this is good, and I look forward to your input as it goes along! This will be a big one. Also, the story David just read essentially encompasses Dragon Age 2, or what you _need_ to know of it, so you're in the clear. Want to know more about it, there are plenty of youtube videos at the disposal.

Without further ado, I await your opinions on this.


	2. A Broken Bond

Hero of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

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Chapter 2 (A Broken Bond)

Tori pounded on Trina's bedroom door from outside, pleading with her to come out. "Trina open the door, please!"

"Nope, not happening!" Trina had locked herself in her room to get away from Tori and her Hollywood Arts Friends. She despised each one of them, simply because they made her feel worthless. They were all downstairs now, joking about how pathetic she is. When Tori said nothing, yet again, she snapped and bitterly remarked that Tori never once bothered to stick up for her own _sister_. "I'll stay in here and read my books if I have to, but I am _not _leaving this room." Tori didn't dare try to open the door, but it wouldn't have made much difference, considering she installed a lock on the door long ago.

"Trina, they're sorry, okay…it's just-come on, please talk to me? I don't like when we fight…"

"Should have thought about that _before_ choosing them over me." She put her hands behind her head and stretched her legs out on the bed, sighing heavily as she gazed at a poster on the opposite wall. It was an FBI poster, she hoped one day to join that elite group of law enforcement. "Nineteen and still at home…why? Oh right, because it's cheaper to live at home than to live on the college dormitories." She was attending college at the University of Southern California.

Hearing the doorknob jiggle, Trina slowly looked towards her door. "Trina I love you, you're my sister and you always will be. I've always needed you…talk to me, _please."_ Frustrated and annoyed, she threw the covers off and walked over to the door. She loved her sister too, but there was a lot of anger inside from all the mocking that Tori allowed her friends to do.

She grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, popping the lock switch up, then swung the door open. Tori stared back at her, mouth agape and hand reaching out for empty air where the knob used to be. Trina's eyebrows meshed together, forming a wrinkle between them and a crease on her forehead. "I'm not saying that I'm only angry at you, or that I love you any less as a sister, but I will tell you this-"

"Trina!" Cat's voice came from the stairway to her right. The sisters looked over to see the friends all staring at her, each with looks of concern. She had said something devastating to all of them before rushing up to the bedroom. Her words were that she regretted talking Tori into going to Hollywood Arts, regretted never introducing Tori to her own friends, all of whom were now gone, but that was not the worst of it. She wanted them to all go to hell, and said the minute the opportunity presented itself, she was getting out of this house and would refuse to see any of these people again, including Tori if she continued associating with them.

Was it harsh? Yes. Did Tori deserve that? Most likely not, but Trina was angry and had a habit of saying things that she didn't mean. In her heart, however, it felt as though she _did_ mean it, or at least a part of her did. It wasn't her place to tell Tori who to be friends with, but Tori should know that she shouldn't let her friends constantly berate her family the way that she did.

"Trina we're sorry," Andre started. She rolled her eyes, growling at them for getting in the middle of her and her sister. They were all red-faced, with the exception of Jade, who was looking towards a family portrait on the hallway with a somber look. "We go overboard sometimes, Trina. We never think about things, I guess."

"Well you should," she barked in response. "I am her _sister_, whether you like it or not. You don't come between two sisters! As for you, Tori…" She turned to see her sister trembling lightly, her eyes were misty. "You and I used to be close, before you went to that infernal school. Not to mention, I had friends. Friends, much like you, now I only have one friend left…why is that? Oh right, because of the people standing _right there!" _Her finger flew to the friends and they gasped in shock, Jade slowly looked over, frowning at the accusation.

Tori cupped her hands over her mouth and closed her eyes, understanding well what Trina meant. She'd been a part of it all. The constant accusations and derogatory statements the group made of Trina around the school began to pressure all of Trina's friends. She had a group of her own at Hollywood Arts, just a small group. There was Quentin, Lindsay, Bryan, Sinjin and Salome. One by one, they all left her side, exhausted with the remarks and tension received from Tori's group. Each had been asked what they saw in Trina.

_Why did they hang out with a loser_

"Ironically Tori, they never said anything bad about you. Even now, _Sinjin_ doesn't say anything bad about you guys. If he's got a problem with you though, he says it, doesn't he?" The statement brought up the memories of the whole _Slap_ followers, when Sinjin got to them by mentioning how much they disgusted him by worrying over who is following who on the Slap. The whole thing had really been a test of how far Tori and her friends would go to try and get the best of her, she and Sinjin ad a bet going on and thought Tori might do the sisterly thing and not care. Trina figured they'd all insult her and try to be better than her 'ugly sister'. Much to Sinjin's sorrow, Trina was right, and that's when he had to speak up to them.

"We're genuinely sorry," Beck insisted, "Give us a chance and we'll show you that we-"

"Shut up, Beck." Her tone was spiteful and filled with malice. Her eyes flared with hatred and her fists clenched until her knuckles began to turn white. The group silenced, their eyes widening. "Maybe you don't understand, genuine or not, you people are the reasons my friends left me and you people are the reasons that that closeness that was there between me and my sister…is gone. You've severed it. You think I'm going to forgive and trust you people? Not with my _life. _More or less, I'm sure if I were hanging off a cliff, you'd let me drop!"

"That isn't true!" They protested. She wanted to dare them to prove it to her, she wanted to see just how far they might squirm.

"You'd have a better chance of getting a snail to win a marathon than to have me believe you of anything." They exchanged defeated glances. Tori scratched at her neck, a nervous habit of hers, and started to walk towards Trina. She extended her arms, hoping for a hug. "Tori, I'm not in the mood." Without sparing her sister a glimpse, she shut the door and turned away. "It's about time someone stuck up for me, and since no one's going to do it, I'll do it myself."

"We're sorry about your friends," Tori pleaded from the other side. Her cries fell on deaf ears. _Sorry_ didn't do a damn thing, her friends were gone just as was the bond between her and her sister. "Believe me, I'm sorry Trina. I do love you, you're my only sister! Hell, you're dad's favorite, whether you believe that or not." She scoffed and turned towards the picture album on the edge of her bed.

What started this fight, really? Was it Jade commenting on how Trina had no friends, or was it Beck's statement of how the only friend she could get was _Sinjin_? Perhaps it was Tori's acknowledgement and agreeing with her own friends.

She reached over and slowly opened the album to the first page, wincing when she came across a photo taken by her father of her and her friends all sitting around a park blanket. They were in Junior High, all met during an art class. In the ninth grade, Trina, Lindsay, and Salome all went into a martial arts academy after school while Sinjin, Quentin, and Bryan went to some computer school. They often shared each other's interest and talked on about how their days went. They would do everything together, seemingly inseparable, just like Tori's _dumbass_ friends.

Salome and Bryan had been siblings, they moved away with their parents about a year ago. They wanted to keep up a friendship with Trina, but found so much hate from Tori's friends posted on her Facebook page that they wanted to stay out of all the tension. They didn't say anything harsh, but simply, drifted apart after some time.

Quentin got tired of trying to defend both himself, Trina, and his own friends from the oncoming questions that Tori's friends posed to him about why he hung out with Trina. So much so, that he washed his hands of the issue altogether and had not spoken with Trina in almost a year.

Lindsay had been the first friend to leave, unfortunately. This was the same Lindsay that dated Danny, and Trina still remembered Tori saying how Lindsay didn't like her. It troubled her deeply to think that all the fighting between her and her once-best friend stemmed from all the tension created with the others.

After Quentin, who was the last to go, Trina had a major breakdown on Sinjin's porch. She half expected that he was going to leave her side too, and she told him, she'd rather him just do it now than later. He picked her up off that porch and gave her the kindest smile she'd received from anyone in the longest time, and told her that he was never going to leave his closest friend. It was a promise that he'd kept to this very day, and she was eternally grateful for it.

Rapid knocking was heard at the door, but was drowned out by Tori and her friends calling for her. The friends were even inviting her to play poker with them, but she wanted nothing to do with any of them. She didn't believe in their sincerity, she didn't think they had anything malicious planned, but at the same time, didn't think they had anything good planned either. "I may be acting stubborn right now, but there's no way I'm coming out of this room!"

"Please! Give us a chance!" Cat exclaimed. The others agreed, perhaps Jade was the only one _not_ saying anything though.

Ignoring them, she turned on the television straight across from the bed and flipped the channel over to the music channels. She hit the Spanish music channel and started to turn the volume up. It was playing a song from one of her favorite bands. _Vestido Azul_.

Tori cried out as she continued to turn up the volume, smirking deviously. "No fair drowning us out!" She never once tried to show up her sister, while Tori made every attempt to be better than her. The only things Trina had over her sister, so it seemed, was Martial Arts and the fact that the only thing she could sing and sing well was Latina music. Her true favorite Latina artists was Shakira, but she didn't dare try and sing one of her fast paced songs. However, Shakira got her through many rough times.

Through all of this, a different knock was heard. It was a faint rapping from her nearby window. Stunned, she turned and saw Sinjin on a ladder, waving at her. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly ran over, opening the window. "Sinjin, what the hell are you doing? You do know my dad's a cop and if he sees a boy with a ladder…_why_…"

Sinjin looked down at the steel ladder, he was trembling and gripping the sides with great fear. "I was feeling nostalgic and saw an episode online of that old 90's show, _Clarissa Explains it All._ So I was feeling brave."

She rolled her eyes and leaned forward, folding her arms on the windowsill. The television remote tapped lightly on the brick outside and her lip curled into a smirk as Sinjin looked back at her. He was looking a bit different today, his usual curly afro was slicked back with some gel and his glasses were gone. "Why the new look, Sinjin?"

"My sister convinced me to try contacts out, so I went and got some…they're actually very comfortable on the eyes! She also bought me some hair gel. You like?" He ran his hand through his curly hair, smirking charmingly at her. She laughed and reached out, running her fingers through his thick mane.

"Well…It could grow on me." He rubbed his ear and looked over to the television.

"I can barely hear you over that. What's going on?" She grimaced and straightened her shoulders. Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed.

"I'm having a fight with my sister and her friends, so I'm drowning them out with music." Sinjin bowed his head and let out a soft exhale. "You understand my plight. Anyway, I can tell you're terrified of that ladder, and if Dad sees you on this ladder outside my window, you do realize you'll be hitting the ground, right?"

"I'll take my chances." She smirked and gently put her finger to the tip of the ladder. Sinjin slowly looked to her hand, shuddering as she playfully pushed forward. His eyes widened and his hands shot out, grabbing the windowsill, despite the fact that the ladder barely moved. She smiled coyly and gently pat his shoulder.

"Funny, coming from a guy terrified of heights. Come inside?"

"I was actually coming to ask if you wanted to take a quick drive around town. Maybe hit a museum. I'm done with work for the day." Sinjin worked as a teacher assistant at Hollywood Arts, which was the reason he was still there at twenty. He worked for Sikowitz, but was really hoping to one day be a history professor. Trina herself went back to Hollywood Arts on occasion to talk with the Tae Kwon Do instructor she had on campus. She raised an eyebrow and shut off the television. Tori and her friends were still trying to get her attention. With a heavy sigh, she turned to Sinjin and shrugged her shoulders.

"It would beat being stuck here." She could hear the doorknob jiggling and was curious as to whether one of them would try to pick the lock. She knew both Robbie and Andre were great lock pickers. If that were the case, she would rather hasten herself out of this area. "All right, move on down and I'll make my way out. I'll text Dad or something, let him know I'm heading out. I'd rather avoid my sister's friends, so…yeah."

"If you say so." Sinjin wasn't deemed a threat by her father, really, but he was still a man. David may act like he didn't care about her, but she knew he did. It was easy to see, and he acknowledged once before that sometimes he said things before speaking and didn't mean half the things that he did.

When he told her he wanted her to go to college far away, he apologized after he saw how it upset her. He meant it only jokingly and didn't want her to go away. When it came to men, he was overprotective of her, seemingly more so than he was with Tori, and _that_ stunned her. As much as David trusted Sinjin, he still was watchful and didn't want _any_ boy doing anything to hurt his daughter. That being said, every guy that ever came around her was required to talk to him _and_ to know that her father was a cop. He respected the men that weren't intimidated by him, which Sinjin wasn't, thankfully enough.

"If your dad's in the house, why isn't he stopping your sister and her friends from banging on the door?"

"Apparently he trusts us to resolve our own issues without having to intervene. Not the smartest move, but whatever…" She put her leg on the windowsill and Sinjin began to descend the ladder. He extended his hand and she reached for it, using it as leverage to move over the window and onto the ladder. Once over, she shut the window and started to descend, when she was just about to be below the window, she took a quick glimpse into her room to see the door starting to open. _"Thought so…"_

It didn't take long for them to get to the car, leaving the ladder by the side of the house. It was her dad's, so they didn't see any qualms about leaving it there. As he started up the car, Trina took one fleeting glimpse at her bedroom window, frowning at Tori gazing down at her. Her heart started to break, but she forced herself away. She wanted to rebuild that bond with her sister, but she didn't think it was possible with Tori's friends 'poisoning' her. Even if they claimed it wasn't their intention, they would not easily gain her trust or respect after all they'd done.

She took her cell phone out and began to text her father, _"Going out with a friend, Daddy."_ It took a few seconds, but her phone chimed out a response. Sinjin raised an eyebrow and commented on the swiftness of David's reply.

_"Are you with a boy?"_

_ "It's Sinjin."_

_ "Okay. Have fun and will you be back by dinner?"_

_"Yes."_ She pushed her phone back into her pocket and reached up, combing her fingers through her hair. "Dad wants me home by dinner." They usually ate at seven-thirty or eight. Lunch was anywhere from noon to three, depending on when lunch was served at school or what her class schedule at the college was like.

"All right, I'll get you home by then."

"Excellent." She eyed her Shakira CD case that she'd left in the dash of his car. Her grin stretched from ear to ear as she instantly took the CD from its case and pushed it into the player. As it started up, she rolled down the window and hung her elbow outside. The wind nipped her cheeks and blew her hair back, it was a warm sunny day outside. "I love this time of year, April…don't you?"

"Yep."

"My birthday's in a couple weeks, what are you getting me?" He laughed heartily and glanced over with a subtle grin.

"I don't know, you're turning twenty, so…what does every twenty year old want?"

"You should know." He was a couple months older than she was. "But I'll take anything really."

"Maybe a nice dinner?"

"Maybe." She threw her hair back as Shakira's _Loca _began to play. She hung her arm out of the car, tapping her hand on the door in the rhythm of the song, singing along. Sinjin looked over to her with a bright smile and shook his head. When the guy's part on the song came, he began to sing along, despite being able to keep up. She laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder, watching him snicker at his poor attempt.

"You _are_ loca," he teased. "Don't distract the driver." She wagged her eyebrows and smirked with brazen defiance. This was going to be a good time to get away from all the stress of the day, and she was happy to be spending the day with him rather than her sister's friends.

* * *

What are your thoughts so far? I thought I'd open up to show the dynamic of the group and where they are right now. The big bad will strike soon, though, in like a couple chapters. What are your thoughts, questions and observations in this chapter? I'll happily answer any questions you might have (unless you're anonymous, in which case I have no way to respond to you :/)


	3. Friendships in Question

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 3 (Friendships in Question)

"Look, we really are sorry," Andre attempted to console Tori, who was sitting on the couch with her face buried in her hands. Her heart shattered when she saw her sister driving away in her friend's car. She assumed it was Sinjin, but she didn't really see who it was and what she _did_ see was someone with slicked back hair. "We didn't mean any harm, really." He touched is hand to her shoulder and she slowly looked up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks stained with tears, and her hair had fallen in front of her face.

Andre was sitting to his right, he was tense and his eyes held a genuine sorrow. To her left was Cat, idly brushing her red ponytail with her hand, holding it over her shoulder. Jade was in the nearby recliner, glaring at her feet while Beck stood beside her with his hands in his pockets. Robbie was near the kitchen counter, speechless through the entire fight.

"I know it doesn't mean much," Jade's voice was whisper-quiet, but loud enough to obtain everyone's attention. They swamped around her like flies to a light, that's why they were all friends with her. To Tori's knowledge, the friendship started because she had no friends, and now it was like some unpledged loyalty to her. "But I really am sorry, it's my fault, I think." Tori scoffed at her and Beck glanced away from the group.

"Yeah it doesn't mean much Jade, you're the one that _enjoys_ berating everyone."

"It's not that I enjoy it! It's just…who I am. I mean, it's like, I don't know…I feel like I either have to be in command and on top of my game, or I'm out. I had no friends when I started going to HA, not until Beck and I started dating." She knew the story of how they really came to be. Beck dated her, his best friend was Andre, so he immediately became part of the group. Robbie was working on a project with Beck at the time, and even after the project was over, he still hung out with them. He was the new guy, at the time. Cat met them when her family moved and she sort of attached herself to them. Trina was already going to Hollywood Arts and convinced Tori to try out, even going so far as to fake an allergic reaction to get Tori to go onstage.

Jade put her hands to her chest and closed her eyes, "I mean it. I started making fun of Trina back before we really got together. Trina was a couple grades ahead of me and I wanted to be superior. She was the school's popular girl at _that_ time, and I didn't like popular girls. I tend to see them as vain, just like those girls from the karaoke place a couple years back. So…I mocked her, convinced Beck and Andre to do with me because, well, I don't know…"

"So you're saying you have a superiority complex. Is that what you're telling me?" She couldn't help but to feel a deep anger rising up, but she didn't know whether to blame Jade or to blame herself. "Even if you made fun of my sister _before_ you met me, she's _still_ my sister. Regardless…she's right, you should respect that…"

"We've all done some pretty stupid things," Beck lamented while running his hand through his hair. "Andre, Robbie and I all fooled Mr. Vega into thinking we were doing some sort of puppet intervention with Trina when we were really just messing around with her, trying to feign interest in her and overwhelm her with stuff…" Her muscles tensed and she swept her fingers over her forehead, moaning at Beck's admission. She heard snippets of the story from Trina, but she didn't know what really went down.

"You did _what?"_ Her head bolted up as her father's voice echoed into the room. They looked over to see the man glaring at Beck from the stairway. As he descended the steps, his glare never once left the boys. "If any of you hurt my daughter in any way…" He took a slow, deep breath while speaking with such distinction that even _Tori_ felt the chills of fear stabbing at her. "Emotionally, mentally, or physically…then we're going to have some issues here."

Tori rose and moved over to her dad, putting her hand to his wrist. His nostrils were flaring and his eyes had a dangerous look in them. "They were just telling me how much they screwed up, how we _all_ screwed up."

"Yeah Mr. Vega," Robbie straightened himself up from the counter and David's fiery glare fell onto him. "We want to make things right, all of us." Tori knew her sister better than anyone, and she was well aware that there was _no way_ Trina would easily forgive them. She understood when Trina wanted to cut ties with someone, she would, and she was very close to doing just that with all of her friends. "We don't know how to do that, though…"

"My daughter is very careful with who she trusts, and for good reason. I raised her to be that way. Now I know you guys like to joke around with her, and I may not know the extent of your teasing, but I can tell you this…If you've messed with her mentally or emotionally and you want to make things right…you'd better work hard at it."

"Dad's right guys…I have to also, because, she is my sister and I don't want to lose her. But you guys…I don't know…Trina's a girl that, well, she can either be your greatest friend or your worst enemy. She puts one hundred percent in her relationships, I kind of forgot that." It wasn't like she ever stopped needing her big sister, she always had needed her. She just lost sight of how important Trina was to her when she went to Hollywood Arts.

"Jade," she continued, "I can understand your dislike of popularity…I don't know what it is, I guess I got caught up in what you guys were doing. I was new too, didn't have many friends, so I went along with you when you mocked Trina the first couple times…I guess I went overboard, so I'm sorry."

"Sounds like you're apologizing to the wrong people," David muttered as he folded his arms over. "You can all tell each other how sorry you are for what you've done, but you should be talking to Trina." He turned to Tori and slowly shook his head at her, causing a pang of guilt to strike her. "She's your sister. Friends or not, you shouldn't have agreed with them the _first _time. The first time it happened, you should have stuck up for your sister. I apologize to your friends for what I'm about to say, but friends…they're temporary, they won't be here forever. Trina will always be your sister, do you understand that?"

"I do, daddy…" It brought to mind the childhood stories she used to hear all the time of her ancestor Sarah Hawke, and Sarah's sister Bethany. Her eyes closed and her heart began to escalate its incessant pounding as she recalled the story word for word. Even in the end, Sarah Hawke stood by her sister. Was she Bethany, though? Was she Bethany, were her friends the circle, and could she make that analogy? Would Trina stand by her, or was it too late to salvage their relationship? "I have to make sure…I haven't completely ruined my relationship with her…"

She could feel a deep fear growing inside of her, pulling at her heartstrings as Trina's words lashed at her mind. She put her hand to her chest and held her breath. The others remained quiet, each looking to one another. They'd all followed Jade, not wanting to upset her or lead her away from the group, but it had gone on too far now. Not only was her relationship with her sister at risk of destruction, but they'd all been responsible for sending Trina's friends away.

"I had a sister," Once again Jade's quiet voice rose over everyone else's. They acknowledged her and she slowly looked up to them. "She lives in another state with Mom. Growing up, I was always second under her. She would make me do everything for her, she'd blackmail me and get me in trouble with mom. She was the queen bee at her school and controlled everyone. She was…ten times worse than I am. Ten times as vicious, ten times as controlling…"

"So that's why you act the way you do?" Cat asked, her voice wavered between confusion and annoyance. "Trina's not like your sister, is she?"'

"Nothing like her. Thank God for that."

Tori's heart went out to Jade, but at the same time, she couldn't feel an overwhelming amount of sorrow towards her. Jade made an assumption of Trina based off of her friends and 'popularity' at the school. Trina's rise and fall was attributed to this, whether they realized it or not. "There's a lot you guys don't know about her." Her friends looked to her, each had remorse in their eyes. "If you want to make things right, you need to get to know her for who she is. She's not just my sister, she's_ everything_ to me. She's strong, she's compassionate, she loves me and I love her. There's no one I know in this world that is better than her…she's tough, but not too tough. She's _amazing_ and you've all torn her apart. I'm ashamed to say I helped because I was afraid of losing your friendships…but dad's right…that is no excuse. You have to respect her, but you also have to respect me. If you want to make things right, you have to make things right for both of us…you have to show _me_ that you _mean_ it. If you don't…then, well, I guess it's over."

Their eyes widened and their bodies tensed, none of them wanted to lose her friendship. She didn't want to lose theirs either, this was hard as hell to tell them, but she saw no other choice. If they couldn't be respectful and kind to her older sister, then she wasn't going to be friends with them.

"When I was a little girl, Trina was my everything, and she still is. Even her friends were friendly with me before I went to Hollywood Arts…" She crossed her arms and met each of their gazes. They were filled with fear and concern. Jade seemed conflicted, surely even she wanted to keep Tori's friendship. As insecure as that girl was, friendship meant everything even to her."As a little girl I always said my friends were going to be hers, that we were a _package deal._ Now I don't know if that's what _she_ felt, but the rule still applies to me. I-I need her, I can't lose her. So, if my friendship means anything to you…then you need to treat Trina with respect too. I'm not going to let those insults and jabs fly anymore, because it put me in a place with her that I do not want to be!"

David started to nod and pat her shoulder, "I'm proud of you, Tori."

"Thanks dad, but it might be too late…I think she hates me. Can't say I blame her…I wonder what she's doing right now, probably lamenting over how stupid we all are."

Trina was halfway across the city with Sinjin, laughing as the two toured the National Historical Museum of Las Angeles. He was making several quips about historical facts. Tori and her friends were the furthest thing from Trina's mind, just the way she liked it.

Her stress and blood pressure had decreased severely from where it had been earlier. "Trina, I bet you can't say the preamble to the Constitution without looking at that," he pointed to a framed constitution on the wall. Trina chuckled and shook her head, not daring to make that bet. She was not well versed with the constitution, or other governmental facts.

"Nope, I'm not the history major, Sinjin, you are. I'm Criminal Justice, and I'm willing to bet _you_ can't recite the oath that the police have to recite in the academy." She stood at his side and put her arms around his neck, smirking as she leaned close, wagging her eyebrows and challenging him to try the oath. It was a relatively new oath that her father helped create for the department about five or six years ago. He was now the third in command in the police department, just beneath the Assistant Chief of Police and Chief.

"All right yeah, you got me there." She released his neck and laughed, throwing her hands up. "I'll learn it one day."

"Okay, listen to me well." She spun towards him and held up her right hand. Sinjin raised his right hand as well, locking eyes with her. "I pledge to honor, obey, serve and protect the laws of the city of Las Angeles, the state of California, and the United States of America. I will not deviate from my path, but to be strong, swift, firm, and loyal. No criminal will escape my grasp, no burglar will steal the upper hand. Loyalty, Honor, Respect, and Determination. I will uphold these qualities as I perform my civic duty to this great nation."

Sinjin recited it and slowly lowered his arm, "Yeah I'm going to have a hard time remembering it, but I bet I can learn it."

"If I can, you can."

"Trina? Sinjin? Is that you?" She tensed and glanced over her shoulder, startled by the sandy haired girl behind her. It was Lindsay! She was wearing formal clothing, and had her hair cut down to her chin, where it feathered outwards. She had a darker tan than she remembered, but overall, she still looked the same. "I can't believe you guys are here!" Lindsay moved over, hugging their necks. She was taken aback by the gesture, and Sinjin seemed just as confused. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"Lindsay, you work here now?"

"Yep." She took a step back from the duo and smiled, glancing between the two of them. "Wow…so…it's been a long time."

"I'll say." Some old emotions were beginning to dredge up, but she swallowed them down and crossed her arms. "Last I remember, you were telling me you didn't want to be friends anymore." Lindsay bowed her head and lifted her shoulders up.

"Yeah…I'm sorry about that, there was a lot of stress going on back then. I never wanted to end on a bad note, I just couldn't take fighting anymore. "But how are you now Trina? Are Tori's friends still giving everyone that comes in contact with you hell?"

"No, they mind their own business where my friends are concerned." She motioned her thumb to Sinjin and her lips tugged back into a frown. "Sinjin's the only one that concerns, and they pretty much leave him alone considering he's never once left my side."

"I see, well that's good." Lindsay looked to Sinjin and chuckled once at his hairstyle, "That's a little different from the afro that I remember, Sinji."

"Thanks!" He moved his hand through his hair and beamed with pride. "I kind of like it too, I put some gel in it and let my sister talk me into trying contacts out."

"The look suits you." Lindsay turned back to Trina, breathing in deeply. "Look, I know we ended on a bad foot, but I am _really_ sorry. I didn't want our friendship to end, we've always been close…Is it all right if I give you my number, so maybe we can really sit down and talk? I have to get back to my tours, but…I'd love to talk to you again."

She hesitated to trust her, fearing the possibility of her friendship ending again later on for whatever reason. Deciding against isolation, she pulled out her phone and pressed the 'add contact' button in the address book. "All right, Lindsay. What's your number?" The girl's eyes lit up and she instantly recited her number. With that, Trina gave her a smile and pushed the phone back into her pocket. "I'll give you a chance, I would like to catch up too…"

"Thank you! So…are you two like, a couple now?"

"Huh?" Trina and Sinjin looked to one another and her cheeks flared up. They were just incredibly close and comfortable with one another, but the possibility of being a couple? They dated once or twice, but never became an official boyfriend and girlfriend role. She didn't really feel like getting into a relationship with anyone, she felt she had severe bad luck with relationships. Though, Sinjin _was_ the only guy who could probably handle her in this world. "We're not really there yet, I mean…"

Lindsay's boss came around the corner, asking for her to get back to work. The girl nodded to her boss and grinned at Trina. "I remember everyone in the group used to tease you and Sinjin, you were always the closest…I hope if you do hook up, that it'll work out. Anyway, I have to get back, I hope you'll consider calling me!"

"I'll think about it." Lindsay hugged her neck, then hurried off at the second prodding of her boss. Trina gazed wistfully at her friend's departing figure. She took a deep breath and turned away, looking up to Sinjin. "Maybe I'll give her a call some time…"

"She _was_ your best friend. It's the least you could do, I suppose."

"It is."

* * *

So what are your thoughts? As I'm sure you can see I'm doing it a tad differently than I usually do with Tori's friends. They've got the work to do as well. What are your thoughts on Tori's ultimatum to them, as well as Trina's friend Lindsay showing up again?


	4. A Legend Under Attack

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: Now we enter the first chapter of the ancient past

* * *

Chapter 4 (The Legend Under Attack)

A tall woman dressed in heavy knight armor walked down the dirt road, slipping her two daggers into the sheathes on her back. Her light brown, wavy hair came to her shoulders and her blue eyes glared down the road with angry determination. _"No, not you,"_ she remembered Ser Keran's words just before the earlier ambush. _"They said Meredith might have a spy, they needed someone close. If I knew it was you…"_

_ "Kidnapping?"_

_ "Someone from the circle. A sister."_

_ "Bethany!" _

She scrunched her face and growled lowly. She'd let Ser Keran of the Templars live, at the recommendation of Merrill. It was Merrill and Aveline that convinced her that Ser Keran likely had no clue what he was doing, but Sarah was _pissed._ How _dare_ those mages kidnap her sister!

Sarah looked back over her shoulder, past her three companions, eyeing the felled mage in the distant. She met her companions' eyes and huffed. They were concerned for her, knowing she wasn't in the right mindset right now. Normally she was much kinder than this, she wouldn't normally take the Wounded Coast by storm like this, but the fight between the Mages and Templars was becoming far too personal. "Meredith and Orsino are crossing lines here. It's getting to be too much. Far, far too much. How can anyone expect me to be calm in a time like this?"

"No one's saying you can't be angry," Aveline commented. Aveline was a strong and robust redhead woman with a short ponytail and a braided headband around the crown of her head. She had on the armor of the Kirkwall Guard. She was the captain of the guard and was very commanding person, everyone in the guard would follow her to hell and back. At the same time, she was compassionate and much like the group's motherly presence. "I'm just saying that you want to be calm so you can have a clear head, don't go in with guns blazing, Hawke."

"If they hurt Bethany, they all die." Her sister was everything to her, and while she didn't get to see her often, she adored having the opportunity to see her. Sarah clenched her fists as they walked around a large rock. "The whole world can burn for all I care, I won't let anyone harm her."

"I'm sure she'd say the same," Merrill responded, earning a nod from Aveline and Isabela. These three were her most trusted and strongest companions. The others would come along if she requested them, but they enjoyed a life at their homes. Varric, Fenris, Sebastian, and Anders all had other things to take care of. Though Fenris was debatable, considering all he did was stay at home and drink and feel sorry for himself. Varric liked to hang out at the bar and tell stories of her pursuits, embellishing various details here and there. Anders was a suspicious character, he worked at a clinic taking care of Ferelden refugees, and he had an intense hatred for all the Templars. Then there was Sebastian, the sweet Prince of Starkhaven, whom won Sarah over with his majestic bow, cunning wit and charm.

When they first entered into their 'chaste marriage', she had to wonder what that meant. They were recognized as husband and wife, but she was _not_ letting him get away with marrying her and not giving her what she would surely want as a woman, a _wife_. No. She was in control here. Romance could wait, however.

The group stopped moving and Sarah set a palm on a nearby rock, leaning into it. She looked over to her friends, awaiting their comments on what lay ahead. Down the hill, they could see a group of people standing around, all talking amongst themselves.

"I say we charge them," Isabela stated. Aveline rolled her eyes and Merrill glanced over with a smile. Her beady brown eyes held a particular innocent calm which the angry looking staff on the Mage's back seemed to go against. Merrill was often teased because she looked like a reed in the wind, so skinny and fragile looking, but she was a strong presence. Unlike many of the elves back at her home, she was actually a gentle and friendly presence without any racial prejudices.

Isabela was almost a polar opposite. Dark-skinned, cunning, devious and beautiful. She often wore white cloth shirt and loincloth with boots that went high above her knees. She had long black hair that flowed neatly from her blue bandana. Like Sarah, she was a Rogue warrior, wielding daggers like fangs. She was a pirate thief, and anyone that crossed her, was quick to run or die.

Aveline straightened herself and slowly shook her head, "All I can say is I would not want to be your enemy right now." It was often said of Sarah Hawke, she could be the greatest ally or the deadliest rival. This was true, and in this case, she was about to wipe every mage and templar off the face of the earth. "In all honesty, I can't understand what this war is all about." Isabela scoffed and removed the two sharp daggers from her back.

"Both Meredith and Orsino want to be Viscount, that's what it is. Honestly, Sarah would make a better Viscount."

"I don't want to rule this town," Sarah started, "It's cloaked in blood and violence. It's like tragedy loves Kirkwall." She swept her thumb over her lip, scratching it. "Okay, let's get my sister." The anger that was inside of her was boiling her blood and destroying whatever calmness she had inside. Somehow, peace had to come between Mages and Templars. "I truly, truly fear a war is about to break out."

"We all do."

"Then if and when that happens, we need to be ready…I don't trust either Meredith or Orsino worth a damn. I may be siding with Meredith, but I think she and Orsino _both_ are crossing the lines." The others agreed, and with that, they began their walk forward. Why she was siding with the Templars when she didn't agree with their tactics, she wasn't sure. She just didn't believe that blood magic was good and it _did_ need to be controlled to a degree.

Meredith and Orsino were forcing her to choose a side, though, and therefore she _had_ to side with someone. If she sided with the mages, then she was promoting blood magic. If she sided with the Templars, she promoted eventual mass genocide. _Both_ would lead to mass genocide, she feared.

When they arrived to the location, Sarah glared at the curled up, unconscious body of Bethany. Her anger burst out and she quickly looked up to her sister's captives. She was shocked to see the mage, Grace, whose life she spared many years before. "You're kidding me, right? Grace?" She turned her eyes to the right, seeing the Templar Thrask. He was one of the Templars that believed Meredith was going too far.

"The champion!" One of the nearby mages called out. Grace smirked at her and Thrask stepped forward. He started to plead for her to 'reconsider' her point and help mages. She wanted to help them, but she didn't want to help _blood mages_.

"Just let my sister go. I am in no mood!"

Aveline narrowed her eyes and pointed to Thrask. "You went too far."

"No!" Grace exclaimed angrily, "The Champion killed the man I loved." Sarah rolled her eyes and tilted her head. So _this_ was what it was all about? What happened three years ago? Another mage, Alain, also someone they rescued from the caves with Grace many years ago, opted to not turn to violence. "The hostage dies, then the champion!"

Grace had become insane over the years, which didn't surprise Sarah much. Her heart stopped as Grace started to turn towards Bethany. She began to charge, but Aveline set a hand on her shoulder, causing her to relax as Thrask ordered Grace to stand down. Much to everybody's shock, Grace used blood magic to lift Thrask into the air and slam him down against the ground, killing him.

"Shit!" Sarah pushed Aveline's hand away and rushed towards Grace, shouting angrily as she shoved her away from Bethany. The others drew their weapons and the mages charged in to attack. As the adrenaline pumped through her veins, Sarah continued to fight, slashing at Grace with her daggers.

Each slash struck Grace's staff, bouncing off it. She noticed though that her blades were cutting the staff, so she opted to focus on the cuts in hopes that she could slice through it eventually. "You will die, Hawke. Mark my words!" Grace leapt back and fired off a massive ball of red magic. In an instant, Sarah performed a back-flip, narrowly avoiding the attack, then lunged forward. She swept her arms inwards, twirling her blades in her hands, and slashing at Grace's sides. The woman let out a loud scream and slammed the staff against her, knocking her to the ground.

She looked up in time to have Grace stand over her, slamming the heel of her foot into her chest. Searing pain ran through her body and a violent scream left her lips. Grace had a sadistic grin over her face as several mages surrounded the duo. Magic formed around her raised hand, and began to drip from her fingers. When the droplets landed on her, they started to burn through her armor.

Behind this group, Sarah could make out her companions, each surrounded by Mages and Templars. Aveline was dishing out blows left to right, Isabela was leaping and lunging in all directions, while Merrill was trying to stay a distance away, shooting blasts at every enemy trying to run towards her.

The truth of the matter was, they were overwhelmed. "I told you, Hawke. Now is when you _die."_ Just as an orb circled her hand, they heard a loud war cry. Grace froze and looked over her shoulder while Sarah tensed, watching as arrows flew overhead.

Now in the distance stood a short, buff drawf with red hair, and a tall princely figure, both shooting arrows into the crowd. _"Varric! Sebastian!"_ Also joining the fray was the white haired elf with the giant sword, swinging through the enemies that surrounded Isabela, and Anders who came blasting away at the enemies fixing to overwhelm Merrill.

Once Merrill and Anders were cleared, they charged in to aid Isabela, Fenris, and Aveline. Sebastian and Varric took out the mages surrounding Grace and Sarah, with Sebastian sending an arrow through Grace's hand, shorting out her magic. Grace let out a violent yell and Sarah smirked, she had her opportunity, and would soon be _victorious!_

She pushed Grace off her, grabbed her dagger and threw it down, piercing into Grace's heart. The woman grabbed at the handle, spilling blood from her lips as her evil eyes burned into Sarah. "Y-You bitch. D-Don't think-don't think it's over!"

"Oh shut up…" Sarah pulled the dagger out and returned them to their sheaths, then turned to face her sister on the ground. Alain, the surviving mage from this fray, had not fought against any of them. He knelt beside Bethany, saying that Grace had used some sort of magic spell to bind her. He used magic to awaken her, and much to Sarah's relief, her sister opened her eyes. "Bethany…" She was breathless, and thrilled that the woman was safe.

Bethany slowly stood up, rubbing her head and moaning. "W-What happened? The last thing I remember, I was in my room…"

"So…So that's it, Beth?" Bethany gave her sister a small smile as Sarah shrugged and grasped for an attempt to soften the pressure of the situation. "A couple lousy Mages and Templars, and you're out? I thought you were better than this."

"Well, it's good you're still looking out for me, I guess."

Knight Captain Cullen came shortly after, just in time to miss the battle that took place. He wanted answers to what had happened, and Sarah told him simply that the Mages were behind the attack. She tried to remain clear headed as Aveline suggested, and she did tell the Captain that Alain was safe. As for everyone else, well, they could go to hell for all she cared after what they did to Bethany.

When Cullen left, the group walked to the edge of the shore, where it met the waters, and looked out to the sky. Bethany stepped beside her sister, putting her head to her shoulder. "Thank you anyway, Sarah…I guess I should probably go back to the circle."

"Can you sense a war coming?" Sarah breathed in and closed her eyes, she didn't feel safe at all. Even though she was there with her sister standing beside her and all her companions behind her, she felt a grave danger was heading their way. "Meredith and Orsino both…are lousy as hell. Something…something big is about to happen, I can feel it inside."

Sebastian stepped forward, still remaining behind her, "Is everything okay love?" She breathed in slowly and shook her head. There was a stirring in her blood, a clenching in her gut. What was her destiny? Was she to take out the First Enchanter and Knight Commander? Was she to become Viscount? She didn't wish for it, but if war came, she would have to do _something._

"We'll stand behind you no matter what," Aveline reminded her. "Just say the word."

Her eyelids opened up to meet the orange sky above. She drew in another sharp breath and turned towards her friends. The wind blew her hair back, her shoulders broadened and her eyes narrowed. Bethany started walking towards the friends, turning her gentle gaze over her shoulder.

"Whatever happens from this point on," Sarah began, "Take care of each other. Never stop doing what's right, never stop believing that peace can come." She closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Promise me that this country, Kirkwall, and even the world itself. You'll always serve and protect it, be loyal and honorable. Don't separate from the proper path, be strong and vigilant, swift and firm, enforce what is _right_ and not just what everyone thinks is right. Do the right thing, and people will follow you for that."

"Of course we will," Aveline replied, "What makes you think we wouldn't?"

"I don't think that. Why do you think I would entrust my life, and the state of this country, to you?" They all smiled at her, each seemingly ready to charge through hell at the drop of a hat. "All right, enough of this sentimental crap. We need to get back home. Sebastian, Varric, Fenris, and Anders…_thank you_ for the backup."

"No problem," Varric smirked and lifted up his bow, which he had named Bianca. He claimed Bianca was the one story he could never tell, that it was for some woman from long ago. Everyone seemed to have skeletons in their closet, but it didn't seem to matter, as long as they all were trustworthy and loyal.

Just as she started to step forward, thunder cracked in what was an otherwise perfectly calm day. Sarah twisted around, startled by the sudden storm. On the very edge of the shore, just above the water, wind seemed to create an image of a large circle. "What the hell?" She squinted her eyes and started to reach back for her daggers, but a paralyzing fear halted her, and she remained frozen with one hand on the handle of one dagger and the other seemingly hovering above her shoulder.

The circle was now turning red, and several cracks were going through the center of it. Two hands began to reach out from within, and then a full bodied figure stepped out. This was a woman with long black hair, deadly black eyes, and a venomous smirk. Sarah remained frozen, her eyes wide as she'd never before seen such a thing in her life.

Even her companions hesitated for a split second to act, unsure whether this was a friend or foe. "Sarah Hawke?" The woman snarled at her, and magic resembling red lightning, blood, flew from her fingers. The magic pierced into her, causing her to scream as she was lifted off the ground.

"Sarah!" Her companions shouted, Sebastian reached out for her but was blown back by an unrecognizable force. Sarah struggled to pull her daggers off, to attack, but they had suddenly grown exceptionally heavier. Her body was growing numb with pain, and her vision was starting to fade.

"N-No!" She let out a pained grunt as she lifted higher into the air. "W-Who, who are you!"

"My name is Erin Lamont, one of the last few blood mages in the world." Her eyes shot open as the pain began to spread to her heart and her brain. Her blood started to boil and her skin began to harden. She heard her companions protest, each tried to rush for the strange woman, but each were blown away. Merrill, Anders, and Bethany each used their staffs to fire off magic blasts at Erin, but all their attacks were deflected. "Your ancient magic is no match for me!" The three mages despaired over their futile attacks. Bethany cried out to her sister, but it was to no avail.

"Twenty years ago, Orsino and Meredith had what we, in my time, would call a 'lovechild'. It was an illicit affair to which they kept secret from this world. That child is my ancestor, and in your time, _he_ would wish for the grand takeover of this realm. I am here…to put a stop to you, Sarah Hawke. To prevent you from ending my ancestor's war with each other, to let them rejoin and mutually claim Kirkwall. To reunite with the son they sent away, and to take over the entire realm. Then, in my time, I will rule." Sarah could no longer speak, and her vision had gone completely with her body finally hardening as if it had become stone.

"You're crazy!" Bethany cried. She watched as her sister dropped to the ground like a ragdoll. Sebastian ran forward and cradled her, then Bethany rushed to Sarah's side with the companions rushing behind. "No! No, no, no! Sarah!" She could sense her sister was alive, and in a spell similar to that which she was under. Only this was slightly different, and seemingly more potent. "What did you do to her!"

"I put her in a deep sleep, isn't it obvious? You were just in one." Erin began to laugh and Bethany slowly stood up. Her tears ran down her cheeks like angry streams of fire, and magic boiled around her hands. Her chest heaved and as the companions each drew their weapons. "Maybe you might focus your energy on saying your goodbyes, rather than fighting me?"

"What are you talking about?!"

"She's here for a limited time. After this, her body will be transported to my ancestor. I have already been through time to find this person, so yes, they are keen on this plan."

"Which ancestor?! Meredith? Orsino? Their 'child'?" She couldn't believe Meredith and Orsino had actually had any kind of affair, but it had to be true if this woman was here. "Answer me!"

Erin began to chuckle and Bethany shook her fist at the woman, cursing her. She wasn't foolish enough to try and strike this woman when her magic had no effect on her. "Farewell, I have more _pressing_ matters." Almost as instantly as she appeared, the woman vanished, but the strange portal remained. Bethany could sense the magic from the portal, it was closing. They need to do something, and fast!

* * *

What are your thoughts now that we see our first bit of real action? The next chapter is really a continuation of this one. That portal we'll see is significant as it's still there. What are your thoughts on the events of the chapter? Any questions? I can answer anything (Unless you're posting anonymous then I have no way of responding unless you give me something to respond to)


	5. Legend Under Attack Part 2

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: Since it's a continuation of the last chapter, meaning written as a part of the last chapter and then separated, I post a today instead of tomorrow or the day after.

Chapter 5 (Legend Under Attack Part 2)

Bethany turned her attention to Sarah, frantically laying her sister on her back and using her own magic to figure out what happened. She couldn't wake her with any of her own magic, but she recognized the spell as one that Orsino taught her about in the past. "No!" She cried out and beat the the sand beside her. The others surrounded her, asking what could be done. "I bring her back, I can't heal her!"

Merrill knelt down and put her hand to Sarah's arm, her eyes widened and her hand drifted away from the arm. "A binding spell of some kind, I think…"

"The circle taught me about this, but he said it had never been in use, it isn't even fully _developed. _In the books I read, this particular spell, blood magic…binds a person particularly that the only thing that can awaken them is the blood of a child or grandchild…but Sarah-"

"So a descendant?" Aveline looked to the portal and narrowed her eyes, "It sounded like that woman came from another time. A time in the future, if that's possible?" Bethany drew in another deep breath and winced as she recalled the forbidden spells in the world, besides use of blood magic.

"Time travel through magic. It's a forbidden art, even more taboo than Blood Magic. If that's what Erin used, then yes, a descendent would be around I'm sure." She rose to her feet, wiping away the tears in her eyes as she turned to the portal. "I think…I think I can hold this portal open, but for a limited time. We'd have to try and reopen another if I lost the portal. If one of you can go through, find a descendent, then maybe…maybe we can get her back."

"How would we even find a descendant?" Sebastian asked. The man seemed to be in a state of disbelief, curious as to how or why there would even be one. After all, it was a chaste marriage they entered into, was it not? Then again, it was hard to resist, and surely the love that was between them was pure. They would be more than capable of having children someday, so it wasn't that inconceivable. "Oh god! She's fading away!"

"What?!" She turned back in time to see her sister's body growing lighter. Bethany screamed out and ran to embrace Sarah, but all she grabbed as a result was sand. Sarah was gone. "No!" The others cried out and each person began to tear up. She began to tremble, growing angrier by the second but more determined to have her sister returned to her. "No…Sarah…I can't lose you too. I lost Carver, Mom, Dad, I _won't _lose my sister!" She rose up and let out a scream, then fired off an angry blast at the portal. With that, electricity surrounded the portal, holding it open. "Someone needs to go in there, I cannot…I have to hold this open…one of you has to go. I can prepare a detection spell for you, but the only thing is…it involves a type of magic I don't know how to use. I never studied blood magic…"

That was when Merrill stepped forward, it seemed nobody cared now whether the use of blood magic was forbidden or not. "I-I know blood magic, but I've been trying to use it less. But if it's the only way to find Sarah's descendant…I'll use it." Bethany slowly nodded her head and looked over to Sebastian, assuming he'd be able to go. "The problem is, I can only do it to where if you go through there…you'll step out near your ancestor…you have to find Sarah's descendent yourself. So, Sebastian?"

"I can't," Sebastian muttered. He clenched his fists and stared down at the ground where Sarah had been, trembling as he fell to his knees. "I _can't!_ A member of the chantry, they bound me with a sacred spell, foreign magic can't reach inside of me. I'm useless. God, I'm useless to save my wife…"

Bethany winced, rolling her eyes as she looked towards the others. She figured Anders's couldn't do it since he had taken in a spirit of 'justice' that prevented him from indulging in blood magic. Merrill would be performing it, so Bethany needed her here in order to help not only keep the portal back but to call the companion back with the descendent. "So who can do it? Isabela, Aveline, Varric?" Fenris likely couldn't, he hated blood magic and mages at all costs. Being a former slave, and having strange designs tattooed into his body by mages, he probably wasn't feeling too secure about more magic being used on his body.

"I'll do it." Aveline stepped forward without hesitation, she sheathed her sword and flung her shield onto her back. "Donnic will take care of the Guards while I'm away. If I can get Hawke back, then I'll do whatever it takes. Bethany. When will the circle come looking for you?"

"It doesn't matter, I'm not leaving this spot. I'll send you through. Merrill, I'm going to need you at my side. Everyone else…If anyone does come by while Aveline's out, I'm going to need you guys to stand guard, I _have_ to keep this portal open at all costs."

"Right." Aveline turned to Merrill and cleared her throat, "Okay Merrill. Have at it…do you know this detection spell well?" Merrill slowly nodded and walked over to Aveline. The elf whined as she slowly lifted her hand up. Aveline's face softened and she reached over, putting her hand over Merrill's. "It's okay, it's for Hawke. I'll be fine."

"There's another problem. When I use this spell, it's going to affect anyone in the vicinity," Merrill looked to the others and saw each, including Fenris, shrug their shoulders. She exhaled and returned her gaze to Aveline's, whispering about it even affecting her. "I guess if anyone else was to go, they could…but I wouldn't recommend more than one person go after this."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll put you near your own descendent. That means you'll be separated from whoever else would go along." Bethany rolled her eyes and began to gesture for them to hurry up. Merrill whined once more and closed her eyes, slowly muttering as she pushed her hand _into_ Aveline's chest. Aveline's eyes widened as streams of blood magic poured out from her and from Merrill. The streams shot out and struck everyone except for Sebastian, forming a red glow around their bodies. Bethany was surprised by this magic, it was painless and had a semi pleasant tone to it.

When Merrill removed her arm, Aveline gasped out. The woman then proceeded to remove her heavy armor, "I don't know if they have this armor where I'm going…" Bethany slowly nodded, amazed that the woman was wise enough to consider that fact. Isabela stood by the armor, swearing to watch over it for Aveline. "Now explain to me, someone, how this magic is supposed to work. How am I to know when I come into contact with my descendant…assuming there are other people around."

"That's when it becomes unpleasant," Merrill commented. "It remains that way and when you come into the area where your descendent is, you will actually _feel_ your blood. You'll be able to sense it, almost like a distinct smell, but you will also feel a bit of a burning sensation overwhelming you like your blood is on fire." Aveline was not undeterred by this, she merely nodded while the others appeared more startled by the news. "Until you make contact with your descendent, whether by touch, voice acknowledgement, or eye contact…that feeling will remain."

"Oh. Great. So…nothing _too_ horrible, right?"

"I guess. Also, they'll be feeling the same thing when you arrive."

"Okay, well…now that we have that figured out, how do we determine where Sarah's descendant is?"

Anders moved forward, extending his hand and forming a white aura above his palm. "I think I can help with that." Bethany raised an eyebrow as Anders looked up to her. "I'm going to need your blood first, then Merrill's help."

"It's Sarah's descendent," Bethany remarked, "I don't see how _I'm_ going to help in any way."

"You're her sister, therefore Sarah's descendent or not, you're a relative. This orb, I'll crystallize once your blood is in it, and Aveline can use it to detect when she's close to the descendent." Albeit skeptical, she was willing to try anything at this point. She grabbed a small knife from the ground that had fallen from Sarah's body, and quickly slit her arm. Blood seeped out and Anders quickly moved the orb beneath it, then healed her wound.

Anders moved his hand around the orb, freezing it in a small crystal-like structure, then he called Merrill over to recite a spell. "When this is done the drop of blood will act as a guide. Shifting and pointing in the direction of the descendent. The closest she becomes, the larger it will grow until the entire white orb is a dark red color."

"Oh, okay, and _how_ will it help? Wouldn't it just find my descendent instead?" Then again, mages in the circle couldn't have children, so it wasn't likely she had a descendent. "Not to mention, we don't know how far into the future this is. How many bloodlines do you think there are?"

"It's worth a shot Bethany. It's the only thing we've got going for us right now."

Bethany breathed in and closed her eyes, "You're right…I'm sorry. I'm just anxious, that's all…Come on, we don't have any more time to waste. I need my sister, you don't understand…I _need_ her!"

Aveline stepped forward, putting a gentle hand to her shoulder and giving a tender, reassuring smile. "I promise you, we're going to get her back Bethany. Anders…the orb?" The woman stretched her hand out and Anders placed the orb in her hand. She let out a deep sigh and Bethany began to pray this would work.

"Anders can you redo that real quick?" Merrill picked up part of Grace's staff while the others groaned. "Sarah's blood is on this staff, I can sense the difference between her blood and the others, so…if Bethany is so concerned…we can use this."

"I don't have to redo it, Merrill, just use a spell to switch the bloodlines."

"Okay, I will."

"No!" Sebastian cried out in anguish, further annoying Bethany, who could feel her hold on the portal just beginning to slip. "Take my blood. It's my descendent too, I need to contribute _something_ to saving my wife!"

"Prince-boy's got a point," Varric stated, with the agreement of the others. "I say do it. Whatever it takes to get our friend back…"

After the deal was done, Aveline stood bravely in front of the portal, which hovered still inches above the water. She breathed in heavily and looked to the white orb in her hand, it looked like the blood was gone completely, though it was not. "Here it goes."

"Maker watch over you," Sebastian prayed. Bethany could see in Isabela's eyes that she wanted to go, she wanted to help. Next to Aveline, Isabela was Sarah's closest friend.

Aveline took one last, determined glance at the companions, nodded, then dove bravely into the water. When she narrowed the portal, it started to suck her into it. "Not today, Hawke," Aveline whispered. "Not while I'm around!" In an amazing flash that stunned everybody, Aveline vanished into the portal. Now, all they could do, was wait and pray that Aveline would return successfully.

Even after that, they weren't sure what to do. How would they find Sarah? Perhaps by pursuing Meredith and Orsino, but even still, neither person would want to discuss a child they had in secret twenty years ago. Not to mention, neither would believe that some mage from the future came and told them about the said child.

Things certainly seemed against them now, and without Sarah, Kirkwall might crumble at the hands of Orsino and Meredith. Right now, everything was riding on Aveline's shoulders. That woman could take a lot of weight and responsibility, she'd always shown that, but Bethany began to worry if this time it might be too much.

She hoped not.

* * *

Not an easy task, but they'll do anything they can to get her back. Trina, Tori and the group have a lot to learn from these people. What are your thoughts?


	6. Landing in the Present Day

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 6 (Landing in the Present Day)

The portal was somewhat frightening to go through, surrounded by rushing air red smoke all around, but Aveline Vallen was not frightened in any way. She had one goal in mind, and a captain's duty was never finished. She had no time for fear, just bravado, but she could not rid herself of the unshakeable feeling that something was up.

In her hand she firmly grasped the unbreakable orb that would _hopefully_ lead her to the Sarah's descendent. She knew she needed to return to wherever the portal was, or hope that Bethany could find a way to open one wherever she was at. If that was probable. The only question in her mind was how on earth to convince this descendent not only that she was from the past, but that the descendent needed to rescue her ancestor. The descendent wouldn't 'fade away', she was well aware of that, considering she knew the truth of the matter.

Sebastian and Sarah _already_ had their child nearly two years ago, and that child was currently living in the Hawke estate, being watched by the caregiver and elf maid. It was a fine deal too, considering they were already married, but they still kept that fact away from most people due to safety issues. Sarah didn't want enemies coming after the child.

Sebastian felt 'guilty' afterwards, so they hadn't made love since their apparent wedding, and Sarah was truly hoping to be done with the mess they were in so she could take her child and raise it somewhere safe. Now, if Aveline didn't find this descendent, that child would grow up without its mother, and Aveline was dead set on making sure that _didn't _happen.

_"Okay Aveline, think long and think hard. Somehow I have to find this descendant and convince them to come back with me…"_ She saw a light at the end of the long tunnel and felt her body's floating speed increase towards the light. With a loud scream, she put her arms over her face, bracing for impact. _"Why? Why am I forced to be flung through when that vile bitch was able to _walk?!_"_

When she exited the portal, she found herself crashing onto a bed with two people in it. The two people screamed and jumped out of the bed in time to avoid a collision. Instantly her body began to flare up, the blood inside her was burning like a wildfire in the forest, and it was _painful!_ She found herself crashing into the floor, then a wall. When she opened her eyes to look around she was blinded by strange lights in an otherwise dark room.

_"Ugh…I can feel my body...my descendant's here somewhere…" _She put her hand to her head and slowly rose up, groaning painfully. As she opened her eyes, she found herself staring at a strange object on a table with a nonmoving light inside of it. "What on earth? No candle?"

"It's called a _lamp."_ Startled, Aveline reached for her hip but groaned upon remembering she did not bring her sword along. She was wearing a raggedy looking shirt and torn pants. She turned to see a boy and a girl, both in underwear, staring wide eyed at her. The girl was pale faced with long dark hair and some sort of dark mascara, she was wearing a lace bra and underwear. The boy had shaggy hair like a lion's mane and boxers, as well as a broody gaze that reminded her of Fenris.

_"Oh god, I've landed near a couple fixing to have sex?" _Nausea filled her stomach as she realized this was one of her descendents. "Uh, hi there, I'm sorry to disturb you in the middle of…" She couldn't say it, it was too loathsome to bear! "I'm Aveline Vallen." The girl's eyebrows rose as she grabbed the blanket off the bed and used it to cover herself and the man. "What are your names?"

"I'm Jade West…and this is my boyfriend, Beck…"

"Oh…well…" Jade looked more uncomfortable than someone who had just been interrupted in the middle of lovemaking. She was wincing and hugging herself, sweat was _pouring _from her body as well, much like the sweat Aveline could feel. Her heart began to sink as she connected the dots, _this_ was her descendant. Immediately she turned her glare onto Beck, ready to tear apart this man who wasn't even _married_ to the girl, who was practically a child! Beck shrank away and Jade extended her hand. Aveline shook her hand, and almost immediately, the burning feeling inside of her went away. Jade did a double take and pulled her hand away, feeling a spark that shot through the both of them at the moment of contact.

"That was strange…I thought I was coming down with a fever or something for a second there." Jade rubbed her forehead and sat on the edge of the bed. "Wow." The couple looked towards the portal and Aveline glanced down to the orb in her hand. The blood inside was forming a small dot towards the east. "So what is that?"

"Magic portal. Blood magic. From the past."

"You don't say…"

"Yep." Why did _her _descendant look so _dark?_ The black mascara, the pale face, the dark walls in the room and purple _everything._ It didn't concern her as much as finding a man in the girl's bed. "It's hard to explain, but…I'm looking for someone in particular. It was said that I would land where one of my descendants were located. I think I caught you in the middle of…something…I wish I didn't." Jade's eyebrow arched up and Beck's eyes widened. Aveline pointed a finger towards him, taking a commanding stance against him. "You there, put on some clothes in the presence of the guard captain."

"Excuse me?" He looked confused, while Jade simply appeared entertained by this.

"You heard me. Scat!"

Jade covered her mouth as Beck took a step back, "You'd better listen to her, Beck. She looks like she means business." Beck reached down for a pair of jeans on the floor and Aveline glared while he dressed. After he was finished, he fled the room. She folded her arms and stared at Jade, concerned that the girl wasn't calling her a nutcase.

"So…You're my ancestor? I have to say, I pictured you differently. The only portrait there ever was of you, Dad said was destroyed long ago." This girl _knew_ of her? Aveline was shocked!

"So you believe I'm from the past _and _that I'm your ancestor?"

"You said Aveline Vallen, Captain of the Guard, _and _said you were an ancestor. And after that thing opening up over my bed, I guess I'd believe anything at this point...Anyway, if you'll let me get dressed, I'll explain. Sorry you had to pop in when you did, I uh, wasn't expecting a giant portal to open in my room." Aveline raised an eyebrow and looked towards the portal, still hanging above the bed.

After Jade dressed, _and_ gave Aveline some suitable clothes which were oddly comfortable on her body, she was led to the home's basement. Aveline was fascinated by the 'cotton' shirt and 'blue jeans'. She was wearing a short sleeved, v-neck t-shirt with ankle length jeans and soft socks. One of Jade's 'tennis shoes' also fit her, she had no idea what they were, but found them oddly relaxing to walk around in. Her hair was down to the bottom of her neck, which was slightly uncomfortable for her, but Jade said it fit the timeline.

Jade told her of the invention of electricity while getting dressed, explaining what these strange lights were. When in the basement, Aveline caught a familiar item hanging on the wall. Her sword and shield! Her jaw fell and her heart filled with excitement. "That's been handed down from generation to generation." Beneath the shield and sword was a podium with a familiar, medium sized book. "Dad says this was your diary or something, your captain's log. That's why I recognized your name. Dad always said there were a lot of legends back then, many types of people and things that don't exist anymore…"

"What year is it, then?"

"2013. Your time was equivalent to 1450, that's the year Dad says it was when you helped defeat the Templar's knight commander." She did a double take and gawked at Jade. They took down _Meredith?_ Sarah knew a war was coming, but none of them thought it would actually happen. Or, they did see it coming, but they didn't want to believe it.

"Tell me…do you know of mages? Do they exist?"

"I know people who practice wiccan religions, but I don't know if magic exists or not." They clearly did, since they'd just spotted someone from this timeline, but perhaps they didn't have a huge impact anymore. "So…what does this make you? My great-great-etcetera grandmother?"

"Uh, yeah…" She started to pale at the thought of being a 'grandmother', she was hardly any older than thirty-four! "I never pictured my descendent being so dark, not that it's a bad thing, I just…I don't know what I expected. I have red hair, for one thing, blue eyes, and you have…" She shook her head and ran her fingers over her forehead. Her heart was racing and her mind was a jumble. "Then again, I guess 2013…it's been over five hundred years hasn't it?"

"Yeah it has. So what brings you here, anyway? How did you get here? Why?"

"Looking for a descendent of Sarah Hawke." Jade's smile turned to a frown, and a look of curiosity shot past her eyes. "A blood mage from the future, from this time, came and put some spell on her…it can only be broken by a child, a descendent. She already has a child, but it is too young to make an impact, we need help. Things are heating up with Meredith and First Enchanter Orsino, the Templars and Mages are…well, I predict a war that you've kind of confirmed already…"

"I don't know Sarah's descendent, I don't even know that much of the story to be honest with you. I only know you from my dad's ancestry talks. That's pretty much it. I'm sorry I can't be of much help, but I wouldn't mind helping you look."

"Yeah. I have this, created by two mages…" She pulled the orb from the pocket of her 'jeans'. The pocket was deep and it amazed her just what she could put in without having to use a bag of some sort that would weigh her down. Jade was astounded by the orb and stared anxiously at the red dot inside it. "Inside is the blood of the descendant's great-great-grandfather, Sebastian. It's supposed to lead me to the descendent."

"Kind of like a compass?"

"Er, yeah, that…" She scratched her head and looked up to her sword and shield, admiring them. The shield was a golden cross shaped shield and the sword, named Fadeshear, rested diagonally across it. It was identical to what she had left back home, an emotional moment for her indeed. "A-Anyway…I have a certain time before Bethany's hold on that portal closes and she has to find a way to open a new one."

"Well let me tag along I guess, no way I can let you walk around 2013 when you just got dumped out of your own place. You don't know _anything_ about this world now."

"Hey, I'm sure I know a thing or two."

"Know what a car is?" Aveline scrunched her nose up and a crease formed on her forehead as she struggled over the new word. "Know what road-kill means? Didn't think so. Face it, Grandma, you need me."

"Ugh, fine…as long as we don't run into any ogres or corpses, without my sword, then I'm fine." Jade smirked deviously and started for the door.

"Don't worry, those don't exist anymore and corpses stay unanimated beneath the ground. There are worse things, anyway."

"Worse? Like _what_?"

"You'll see, Grandma."

"Okay, but first, _quit calling me grandma!"_ Without any further hesitation, she followed Jade up the stairs, taking one last parting look to her former sword and shield. It was a good sign that maybe, just maybe, things were going to work out.

* * *

Let me know your thoughts on this. There are reasons I have certain people as certain persons' ancestors. Jade can learn a lot about loyalty, friendship and dedication from Aveline, since Aveline is the fiercest and closest ally to Hawke. Tell me your observations and thoughts on everything that went down here.


	7. The Search Begins

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 7 (A Search Begins)

Aveline stepped out of her descendant's bedroom, slowly looking over her shoulder at the portal. She didn't know what would happen if it closed before she had a chance to get back, but she trusted that Bethany, Merrill, and Anders would work together to fix it. "So this is my house," she heard Jade and looked over to the girl. "There are a lot of things that I'm sure you won't know, and I don't have time to go over all the inventions that took place since the 1400s."

"That's fine. I'm not too concerned." She could deal with whatever there was, despite feeling vulnerable without her sword and shield. She had to admit, the future was quite a relief. When they stepped into the living area, she took in her surroundings and flinched at a strange box emitting movement and sounds. "What on earth is that?" Jade looked over to the black box on an oak stand and chuckled.

"A television, flat screen." She chuckled nervously and pushed the orb into her jean pocket. This could very well be harder than she initially thought. "I guess I forgot that I left it on, my dad isn't home right now…" Once Jade turned off the strange box, she led her outside of her home.

When they were outside, Aveline practically jumped out of her skin at all the noises surrounding her. Strange machines were flying by at incredible speeds, creating humming and whooshing noises. The air tasted and smelled foul, of pollution. There were strange silver poles running down an oddly paved road. She put her hand to her head and moaned. "I'm glad it was me choosing to come here, I don't know if the others could cope with all this stuff…" Another large machine flew by and she jerked her thumb towards it, "What in the bloody _hell_ are those things?!"

"Right. That is a car. A vehicle invented about a century ago used for transport. We also have things called freeways. Did you have any mode of transport back then?"

"Yeah...we called them _legs_. Horseback was used too, but generally by the elite at first. Typically we walked everywhere." She wasn't sure if she wanted to even opt to ride in one of these 'cars'. "Do we have an option of walking?"

"Er…" Jade glanced over with a forlorn expression, turning her nose towards a stillmoving vehicle next to her house. "I guess we could walk. You might get motion sickness if you ride around in a car…" Aveline had no idea what motion sickness was, and she didn't truly care. Jade folded her arms over and looked down the street. "Now where did Beck go? I guess you really scared him."

"Varric says I have a tendency to scare the shit out of people." Her lips thinned and her brow furrowed, "It's not every day you fly through a portal and pop out in time to see your grandchild fixing to go at it…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that again…" Jade rubbed the back of her head and let out a sharp exhale. "Beck and I, we get deep into each other and well…sometimes it is hard to resist certain urges. I've never really _done__ anything_ with him, but..."

"Have you ever discussed these 'urges' with your mother?"

"She's never really been around. I don't know if you had divorce back in your day or not…Mom and Dad have been separated for a while. Kind of like my friend's parents recently." She worried that she may have brought up something she shouldn't have. The two began walking down a sidewalk, with Aveline staying on the other side of Jade, away from these moving cars. "The Vegas. Their mom and dad divorced about a month or two ago, Mrs. Vega was having an affair with someone and decided she 'fell out of love' with Mr. Vega." Jade let out an angered scoff, "Like that's any kind of excuse."

"She had an affair?" Aveline rolled her eyes and clenched her fists, irritated that someone could do such a thing. She would never cheat on her husband, Donnic. "Sounds like the woman needs to learn a thing or two about loyalty. When you vow to stand by someone, you stand by them, no matter what." Jade looked up to her, sadness shone like a light in the girl's eyes. Almost immediately Aveline was overcome with concern. "Is something troubling you?"

"Eh…not really…" Jade cleared her throat and looked away, quickening her pace. "You know, I haven't been myself lately. It's strange, I guess it's just my friends. You show up and I start thinking…I remember briefly the stories that said what you were like. Strong, fiercely loyal to those around you…and I question how it could be that you would be my ancestor."

She tilted her head and picked up her pace, moving beside the young girl. "What do you mean? You seem like a good person." Jade scoffed once more, breaking out in a laugh.

"Yeah right. I'm not a good person, I've never been one, though I've tried so hard to be. Growing up, my older sister has always been the popular one and would always push me down, always told me I was a terrible person…So became a bitch made of ice, right? Now, one of my good friends is upset with me because I screwed up her sister." She felt her heart sink and bowed her head, searching for a reaction to the girl's story. It was difficult, and upsetting to see her great granddaughter struggling with friendship bonds.

"Have you talked to them?" Jade flung her arms out, then let them fall.

"I want to make things right, I really do, but…I have no idea how…I'm not accustomed to 'compassion'."

"So you've built a wall around yourself." She could understand that, and it was not surprising to see personal troubles surrounded even those in the future. Each of her friends suffered from some sort of emotional baggage, it was quite literally what brought them together. "Understanding what someone is going through, being a friend to them, it can be difficult…but in the end…it's not a bad thing. What are you struggling with exactly?"

"This girl, my friend's sister, Trina…" Aveline nodded understandably and glanced towards the right, flinching as another car shot past them. She shifted towards the left a bit. As she looked into the distance in front of them, she saw someone riding towards them on a two wheeled vehicle. Jade muttered about it being a bicycle, the nonchalance in her voice spoke volumes to Aveline. "I'm nothing like you. I'm a hypocrite. I realize that. How…how do you build a trust or a relationship with someone when that trust and bond has never even existed from the beginning? Someone you've mocked, torn apart, degraded…I'm _not_ a bad person Grandma, I don't mean to be, I just…I don't know."

"Listen." She stopped moving and Jade stopped a few paces ahead, twisting around to look at her. The girl's body was shaking and her eyes quivered as her lips parted from each other. Aveline reassured her with a smile and gazed into her eyes. "A friendship with someone is rewarding in itself, I'm sure you're aware of that. So you've made someone an enemy, but no matter what, it is never too late to turn over a new leaf if you're really serious about it."

"That's just it. I started with no friends at all, I never even thought I would have any. This girl, she was popular, had friends, and I…I drove them away." Now that was devastating to hear. "I probably don't even deserve the people that talk to me anyway, I scare everyone away without trying. I'm intimidating as it is…I guess I sort of put myself in that position, wish I didn't, but oh well…"

"Intimidating?" She chuckled and glanced up into the clear blue sky, raising an eyebrow at a distant object flying through the air. Shrugging it off, she returned her gaze to Jade. "You know, people say I'm intimidating, but that's because I'm direct. I'm strong where I need to be. In life you have to find balance, Jade. Don't do what your friends want, just to please them, do it because it's the right thing to do. You don't have to control the situation, but when you _know_ what the right thing to do is, you do it."

"I guess."

"Now, I don't know what you're going to do about this Trina. If you're serious about trying to create some sort of bond with her, then by all means do it. If it is possible, that is." From the tone in Jade's voice, the girl didn't sound convinced that she could form any sort of friendship with Trina. "I know it's a struggle, especially if the other person has been damaged by you. You have to work to show you're genuine. Trust and respect_ cannot_ be commanded, it must be earned. I'm the Captain of the Guard in my time, but I would have been laughed at if I just ran in and started barking out orders without first showing that I cared about them."

"I come across the wrong way…way too often." Jade took a moment to gaze at her, then turned away, scoffing. "Look at me unloading my problems on you when you have problems of your own to deal with. Namely, trying to find this descendent to wake your friend up…it sounds like that woman's got some good friends."

"We would all give our lives to protect Sarah, yeah. That's why I'm here, after all."

"I wish I could have that. I don't know if I can't tell sometimes, would they pull me from a cliff if I were hanging on a limb? I would…not out of fear or anything, but because I _do_ care." Aveline watched Jade's hands close and her muscles tense. She reached out to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. Jade slowly looked up to her, frown lines framed the corners of her lips and a thin line began to form on her forehead. "Then show them that, Jade. Do everything in your power to show them that you care. You sound like you mean everything you're telling _me_, so I believe you. Another reason I believe you…you're my descendent, so you should have pretty strong loyalties where it matters. I would travel to hell and back for those in my life, would you?"

"Without question."

"Show them that. It won't be an easy path, but I can guarantee you that if you can make friends out of someone who you first made an enemy out of…then that will be a stronger bond than most." Jade began to smile and she stepped forward, hesitating for a second before giving Aveline a hug. The hug warmed her and gave her a spark of courage where she was feeling uneasy in this future, a far different world than she was used to.

"Thank you. I'll try, but I worry old habits die hard…"

"Even so, work at it. If you recognize a problem with yourself, then you need to work on whatever flaw it is. You're only human, Jade, nobody expects anyone to be perfect. Be honest and openminded, and others will show you the same respect. I'm sure you've heard this by now, considering this phrase was so often said by even _my_ mother, but treat people how you want to be treated and they will treat you as such."

"Okay…I'll try…But first, let's find the person you're looking for." Jade took a step back and Aveline removed the orb from her pocket. The dot was still small and pointing in the direction they were walking.

"I hope the descendant is strong and capable of learning to fight, because we're going to need them…but I wonder, how many descendents might there be?"

"How many would be in LA, probably not many." Jade tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up into the sun. "It's a nice day out, and I'm starving. I need food, I really don't want to hold you back either."

"Well do you know if it's possible to grab some food and go?"

"Oh! Fast food restaurants, of course." Aveline raised an eyebrow as Jade grabbed her wrist and started pulling. This was going to be an interesting search and hunt. "We'll grab a burger real quick, walk and eat. I might call some friends to help you look, if you think that'd be a good idea."

"It's up to you…and what is a 'burger'?" Jade stopped and glanced over to her with an arched eyebrow.

"Wow, you are really missing out."

"I could probably say the same to you. As far as calling goes…"

"Phone." Aveline was skeptical of yet another new term. Confusion swept over her face and Jade let out another defeated sigh. "Let's not get into today's technology though." Fearing another lesson on the world of the future, she quickly nodded in agreement. Her stomach began to growl, causing her hunger to overtake her.

"Let's not, and also let's hurry with the food."

* * *

What are your thoughts? How did you like it all?


	8. The Closest Friend

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 8 (The Closest Friend)

Sinjin and Trina sat at a table in the university café, she was gazing down at Lindsay's entry in her address book. Sinjin sipped his drink through a straw and Subway soda cup. "You going to give her a call? Her shoulders lifted and her eyes drifted up to him. Today he didn't have hair gel in but cut his hair to short, neat curls. He was still wearing his contacts, which she liked, it made his eyebrows more prevalent without the glasses.

"I don't know. I'm worried…she left me once before, and you know how I am when it comes to trusting people." Trust no one, that was her philosophy. She'd been scorned far too many times by friends, the men she'd dated, and of course, the list of people who were on her bad side was rather extensive. "People lie, cheat, steal, mock, nobody is truly genuine these days…"

"What about me?"

"You're an exception. I _know_ you." Lindsay's innocent question played at her brain, causing her to move her fingers up to her right temple. She and Sinjin had a complex friendship. They were exceptionally close and incredibly comfortable around each other, so much that she could call him up at three in the morning via phone or webcam just to talk, and he could do so too if he wanted. She cared about him very deeply, but she didn't know how she felt about a relationship with him.

It wasn't him exactly, it was the idea of a relationship in general, and Sinjin understood why. Every guy she ever dated had been some narcissistic asshole who never stayed around with her long. If they didn't turn her down after the first date, saying she wasn't 'normal', then they would lie to her or even date other women at the same time.

The exchange with Beck, Robbie, and Andre hadn't helped that any. There was a video footage of that evening, as her dad had video cameras installed in the house. No police officer at his status would _not_ have cameras and security use in his home. However he never saw the video footage from that day, mostly because there wasn't any suspicious activity in the house. She'd shown it to Sinjin.

Sinjin was never one to be angry, but when he was, she could see it in his eyes. Beck restrained her at one point, holding his arms around her while she was kicking him. When she got out from his hold while Andre and Robbie were 'fighting', was when she called her father and ran into the closet. Sinjin saw that happen in the video, and he was fuming. He had managed to remain stoic, but the fire was clearly burning in his eyes.

It was her second boyfriend that made her the way she was, she hated to be restrained and it took a while for her to get over her fear of being touched. That boyfriend had been controlling and abusive, demanding she tell him everything. It was Lindsay that helped her out most here.

Trina started to smile at the memory, remembering the sandy haired woman getting the beatdown on that man.

_Fourteen years old, and terrified of her boyfriend, she hugged herself on his couch at home. Michael threw his hand in the air and she slowly looked up to him. She had a bright shiner on her left eye and wanted to go home to cover it up with makeup, she wasn't going to let her parents or her sister see this. She didn't want anything to happen. "I told you to call me if you're going somewhere. I tried to get in touch with you and you were gone." _

_ "I was at the pool with my family, Michael…" Her phone was hidden in her side pocket, she had taken a moment to text Lindsay while Michael had gone to the bathroom. The freckled brunette stared at her with narrow eyes, his voice raising slightly._

_ "You didn't let me know."_

_ Just then, the door flew open and Michael turned on his heels. Lindsay's foot was leaving the air and moving back to the ground. "She doesn't have to tell you everything, prick!" Lindsay and Salome came charging inside. It was a flash of brown and red running through the room, surrounding Michael. Both girls had long hair at the time, Lindsay with sandy hair and Salome with wavy red hair. They were thin, but strong, both involved in the school's martial arts program._

_ They knocked Michael to the floor and Lindsay grabbed him up, throwing him against the wall. "She doesn't call you, you hit her-" She threw one punch into his stomach, followed by a swift kick to his chest. "She doesn't agree, you hit her. She tries to leave, you hit her again." This time Salome dealt a swift blow to his jaw. Trina thought she heard a cracking noise and tried in vain to tear her gaze away from them._

_ "How does it feel, Mikey-boy? Getting beat by a couple 'chicks'?" Lindsay threw him onto his back and put her foot to his chest. He screamed out, his hands flying to her ankle and his eyes looking up, pleading for her to leave him alone. "You're going to leave her alone, this relationship is _over_."_

_ "When school starts back up this August, you're done," Salome snapped her fingers in the air and threw her hair back over her shoulder. "We're going to tell everybody what an asshole you are, so all the girls will know how much of a dick you are."_

_ "Right." Lindsay moved over and helped Trina to her feet, "Come on, Trina, let's get out of here."__She latched onto her friend and let her lead her outside where the boys were waiting. Quentin and Bryan were leaning against their car, Bryan was one year older than Salome and had his license. Sinjin was nearby as well, he draped a coat around her shoulders. Quentin and Bryan opened up the doors as the others helped her into the car. Lindsay sat beside her and held onto her hand. "When 9__th__ grade starts up, Trina…Salome and I want you to join our martial arts class. Okay?"_

_ "Okay." They'd taught her some martial arts moves over the years they knew each other, the seventh grade, but she never took any classes for it and wasn't as great as she could be. She'd be happy to learn and to be in a class with her friends._

That summer, Salome and Lindsay taught her everything they knew about martial arts. Just days before school started up, Michael had come back to try and win her over. He restrained her a couple times when she didn't comply, but this time, she kicked _his_ ass to the ground. He left her alone after that, showing his true colors, his fears of strong empowered women.

"I think I almost hit Beck that one evening," Trina slowly looked up from her phone and Sinjin leaned back.

"When he and the others pulled that stunt on you and your dad?"

"When he restrained me like that, I thought of Michael for a second. If I didn't remember it was Beck, I would have decked him. I know those three didn't _mean_ any harm, but it still hurt."

"I know, Trina…"

"As for Lindsay, I know she was my greatest friend." Also the true longest, because she truly met Lindsay in the fifth or sixth grade while meeting the others in the seventh. "I don't know…how we drifted apart the way we did, or why…"

"I guess Jade was more influential than we thought. Although, I have to be honest Trina…If _any_ of those guys were to come back to you wanting to be friends again and genuinely apologetic for leaving your side, it _would_ be Lindsay. I'd think she, above everyone else, would be the first."

"It worries me, Sinjin. I don't want to call her…only to find she stays away again."

A soft hum left his lips and his gaze drifted to the sub sandwich before him. "What would your ancestor do, Trina?" She tucked her hair behind her ear and chuckled, he always brought up her 'ancestor' when she had to make a serious decision. Of course she'd told him about those bedtime stories that her dad always read to her. He was fascinated with them.

"Those were children's tales, Sinjin. I don't even know if they existed. Sarah Hawke was legendary in her time. You know how legends are, there's no real proof they existed or didn't exist. Besides…elves, mages, manlike creatures with horns sprouting from their heads? Why are they not here now if they existed?"

"Who knows, maybe those creatures you say are called Qunari were wiped out. I know you said your dad always stated how a massive war between the Mages and Templars wiped them out of the world many years later or something. Elves were already a minority, they probably bred themselves out of existence." She smirked at him.

"You're just hopeful that the stories are real." Trina lifted her sub sandwich and bit into it, listening as he laughed. Remembering his prior question, she swallowed her bite and lowered the sandwich. "As for what my ancestor would do, I don't know. It sounds like she was careful to trust just anyone, but she would do the right thing, if she knew what the right choice was. I don't know what the right choice is. I do _not_ trust people, and I certainly don't trust people who have hurt me in the past."

"Arguments caused by your friends are what made you and Lindsay drift apart. She left because she could deal with the arguments anymore, because she herself was becoming too angry with you. She made a mistake, she acknowledged it over there at the museum I think…It's up to you whether you try to renew your friendship with her, but no one's saying it will be without work. There's a trust that needs to be rebuilt, but if both of you are willing to work on it, then you can rebuild it."

"I guess." She turned off her phone and pushed it into pocket. Lindsay would probably be waiting for her to call, but Trina wanted to think about things first. "It just seems like everyone is…I don't know…even my mom lied to us, if you can remember that."

"I know, Tri." She was lamenting now over the divorce that happened between her parents. It was just a few days after the Spanish show that she was on for a little bit, just after Jade and Trina both decided to join her for one episode. When they went home that night, they saw their father sitting on a couch, his hand over the bottom of his face and misty eyes gazing down at a piece of paper. It was a note from Holly.

She'd written to him, saying she was leaving him for Officer Gary, and she didn't think she loved him anymore. He received divorce papers the next morning, and the fights between the two parents escalated each time they met. Neither Tori or Trina wanted to go and be with Holly, both girls stayed with their father, for him and for each other. It was the last they saw of Holly, they didn't talk to her or even visit her, and for good reason. How could they trust her after what she did to their father?

"Well Trina…I have something that will get your mind off all of this." She raised an eyebrow, leaning forward eagerly as he started fiddling around his pants pocket. Much to her surprise, he pulled out two tickets to a Shakira concert. Her eyes widened and her lips stretched into a wide grin. "Two tickets to Shakira, she's coming to LA in a couple weeks. I won these off a contest on the radio."

"Oh my god!" She grabbed the tickets and got up from her seat, running around the table and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. He leaned to the right, laughing despite her squealing in his ear. "I love you so much right now, Sinji! Shakira!" The people in the café were suddenly staring at the two of them, but she didn't care. She was going to get to see her favorite singer in the world!

"Oh, you love me _now_?"

Her cheeks flared up and she hurried back to her seat, fawning over the two tickets. "Shut up and let me enjoy my moment."

"Considering it was a radio contest, those tickets are a little more special. Take a look on the other side." She raised an eyebrow and flipped the tickets over, her heart began to beat at a rapid pace as her eyes danced over the word _'backstage'_. She began to fan herself with her hand while Sinjin merely smirked. "Those will also let you backstage, you get to _meet_ Shakira."

"Oh…my…god! Sinji, I could kiss you!"

"I wouldn't complain." She laughed again, continuing her laughter for several minutes before finally calming down. She handed him the tickets and his eyebrow rose.

"Hold on to these, I so don't trust myself with them. Put them in, like, your little safe back home." One of his many quirks and habits was that he was very meticulous about everything. He needed everything to be where he knew it, and he had a safe he purchased that he left in his bedroom. Literally_ everything_ he had was in there. Including his bug collection. He did have many collections, though not quite as extravagant as most people thought.

For instance, the 'presidential teeth' that he told Robbie about was just for fun. Those were fake teeth that he and Trina managed to get from his dentist. He wanted to see what people would think of him after that. The 'chewed gum' on his locker a few years ago was something that became an inside joke between the two of them. All the gum was _hers_, she just kept putting her gum on his locker and he decided to stop trying to scrape it off after she kept putting fresh gum over the newly cleansed spot.

He did still have his weird habits and was severely OCD, the gum was intentionally messing with his OCD at first to get him used to disorderly and items that were not clean or perfectly structured. It worked a bit, but he still had to make sure things were clean or neat and orderly. Whenever she visited his house, she never noticed anything out of place. His little sister was even worse than he was about it!

"All right, I'll hold onto them, but don't you forget." He took the tickets and pushed them back into his wallet. "You and me, that Shakira concert."

"Oh you know I won't forget." He moved his elbows onto the table and folded his hands over each other, resting his chin on them.

"Or…you _could _take Lindsay if you wanted. Wasn't she also a fan of Shakira?"

"She introduced me to her, yeah. I think I'd rather go with you, though…" She'd think on it, it wasn't something she felt like debating at the moment. "I don't even know if I'm going to be talking to her yet." She would consider her sister, Tori, but the girl didn't like Shakira all that much. Tori might not have too much fun, or if anything, make it all about her. Then again, Tori probably wouldn't want to go with her anyway, or even find a way to fish those tickets for herself so she could go and take someone else, making Trina without them altogether. While Tori didn't seem the type to go that far, she just simply didn't know anymore. "Sinjin. You amaze me sometimes."

"Thank you." He ran his hand through his hair, flashing a cocky grin. "I know I do." She closed her eyes and lifted her eyebrows, playfully kicking his thigh. He let out a grunt and bowed his head. "Yep, had that coming."

* * *

What are your thoughts on the insights learned here.


	9. Let it Out

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 9 (Letting it Out)

Trina danced around her living room, cheering with delight over the tickets that Sinjin had given her, her father was in his recliner with a folded newspaper in his lap. He was watching her with a laughing gaze over his face. "What's got you in such a good mood, Trina?"

"Sinjin won tickets to a Shakira concert! Not only that, but I get to meet my idol!" She jumped up in the air, kicking her legs back. David smiled and she quickly hugged his neck. "It's the 18th of May, can I go Dad? Can I?" She decided to use an old trick on him that worked when she was a little girl but not so much as a teenager. She pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes. David curled his finger over his mouth and chuckled.

"How can I say no to that? If it's what you want, and it _is_ Shakira, go ahead." Her dad didn't really _like_ Shakira as much as she did. He thought her music was okay, but often said the singer should do without the scanty outfits and would prefer his daughters not try to emulate her in any way. Ironically she did _dance_ like her, sometimes just to mess with Sinjin. Nothing ever happened with him, she wasn't that kind of girl and he wasn't that kind of guy, but that didn't mean she couldn't do the dances. She enjoyed having the power to turn him on and to get him all flustered and embarrassed. "Oh, by the way, I think Tori's out looking for you with her friends."

"Not worried about them, Daddy. I'm still in Shakira mode. Do you think my so-called ancestor would like Shakira?" He raised an eyebrow and lifted his newspaper, laughing at the thought.

"I'm not too sure about that. Shakira isn't all that modest."

"Dad. It's _Shakira_, she doesn't _have_ to be modest." He rolled his eyes and held onto his smile as he began to read the paper. "Anyway, you can't tell Tori. I don't know if her friends will try and take the tickets or something. I'm letting Sinjin hold onto them, though. So I don't think he'd let me hand them over to any of those people."

"Doesn't sound like something he'd do, does it."

"Nope. Also, I ran into Lindsay the other day." David's eyebrows shot up and he lowered the paper, looking up to her. "She wants to try and renew our friendship, but I don't know…she gave me her number."

"Why don't you?"

"It's hard to explain." The door started to open, without her realizing it. "Part of me is also afraid that if I reconnect with her, Tori and her friends will just tear us apart again. I don't want to put myself out to someone who is going to hurt me. Whether it's a friendship or a relationship." David clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"When you were a little girl, Lindsay was your closest friend. You two were even closer than you are now with Sinjin."

"Still…" She looked up and frowned when she saw Tori and Andre standing in front of the door. Her heart sank and David glanced over his shoulder at the two. Cat, Robbie, and Beck came in after them, surprised to see Trina. "Oh, looks like you guys found me, huh." It _had_ been a couple days since the big explosion with them, and since then they'd been calling her and trying to talk to her. She had been avoiding them for quite some time, though. "I'm not interested in talking to you people."

"Please just hear them out," Tori pleaded, "They're being sincere. Really."

"Oh? Where's Jade?"

Beck chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck, "She uh, something happened back at her house." Trina raised an eyebrow and Tori glanced at him with a surprised expression. "I haven't been able to reach her…she's with her, uh, grandma. Her grandma needs her."

"Didn't her grandma pass away?"

"That's what I thought."

David cleared his throat and folded the paper, standing from the recliner. "Beck, Robbie, Andre…" The men acknowledged him with respect and he turned towards them. "Right now, I don't want to see you three. I think you need to go home for the day." Trina was shocked by this, and a baffled expression moved over Tori's face. "I took a look at a particular video footage, and I'm not happy with you three."

"You don't want us around your daughters now?" Andre asked cautiously. David closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, it's not that. Just right now, I do not want to see you three." Trina moved her hand over her chest. Her body tensed and her eyes drifted to a laptop on the end table beside the couch. She hadn't noticed it before. She was surprised to see he had his security program open and had been going through the files.

"We'll go then..." The trio seemed to understand what footage he was talking about, much to her surprise. How did they know about the cameras? She didn't tell them and she surely didn't tell her dad about the footage. The men started to leave the house and Tori chose not to speak up against it, which further stunned her. He stopped them, asking them to hold up for one second and they did so. Not daring to move back in, though.

David looked back to her and she immediately wanted an explanation of some sort. She was confused and a bit concerned about what just happened. "Tori's friends told me about that stunt they pulled with you, and I don't like being lied to when it comes to my daughters. It was bothering me for a time, so I had to look the video up. Can't say I liked what I saw…I am sorry they put you through that, sweetheart. Furthermore, I'm sorry I didn't see through their puppet act, I feel like a fool. Feels like I failed at being a father, if I can be so easily tricked by three men. I should be better than that."

The three boys bowed their heads. Trina hugged her dad, hoping to comfort him. The admission greatly upset her, pulling at her heart and crippling her somewhat. She lowered her voice to a whisper and started to smile. "You're a great dad, don't put yourself down like that. I love you, Daddy." Her eyes began to water as she eyed the men, her body started to heat up and her chest heaved. "Why did you stop them?"

"You need to tell them something, I think…I don't want you letting something like this dwell on you." She pulled back, keeping her hands on her dad's shoulders. She gazed into his strong eyes and felt her heart clench.

"What do you mean? I am over it…"

"No you're not. I know my daughter better than that, you're still holding it against them I'm sure. While watching that video, I could see the terror in your eyes when Beck held onto you like that…it made me think of that boy…the one you dated some years back? I don't remember his name too well…"

"Michael?"

"Yeah. Him." Tori put her hands over her mouth and the boys exchanged confused looks. Trina did _not _want to talk about Michael, she didn't want them to know about the guy. However, her father was right, she needed to let go of that memory somehow. "Now I know you don't like him being brought up, and you don't need to talk about anything you don't want to, but I think you should at least get your feelings towards what those three off your chest and tell them how you felt about that. Don't keep it inside, all right?"

"I guess…" She lowered her arms and shook her head. She kept _many_ things inside, and she preferred it that way. Her dad was only trying to get her to not do such things because it wasn't healthy, but it felt a hell of a lot better than bringing up old wounds that made matters worse. Though keeping things inside _did_ make people bitter.

Trina walked towards the three men, Tori and Cat stepped out of the way. She closed her hands and straightened herself. They looked up to her, she could see them starting to shake. Anger swirled around inside of her, and her stomach began to tighten. "I think you're assholes." She kept her voice calm and quiet, though she wanted to scream and curse. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Tori rush to the computer to see the footage for herself. "I think if you can do what you did to your friend's sister, and think that sort of thing is okay…then you have a lot of problems."

She wanted to hit them, to slap them across the face, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. It might _feel_ good, but it wouldn't be appropriate. "I've been through a lot of guys who have turned me down or treated me wrong. Ask Robbie, that one guy, Seth, didn't even have the balls to reject me to my face." Beck and Andre did not turn their heads, but their eyes did drift over to Robbie, who bowed his head. "And Robbie knows damn well I am not paying him back for destroying that guitar of his. If I didn't make it clear then, I'll make it clear now."

"I understand," Robbie replied, "I haven't asked for you to pay me back and I'm not going to."

"Good. Now Beck…" She closed her eyes and breathed in sharply, struggling with the memory of Michael. "The second guy I dated…" Her voice began to tremble and an intense pain stabbed at her chest. "He was abusive, used to restrain me all the time…Dad and Tori know all about him. When you were holding me the way you did, my mind went back to him." Beck's eyes grew wide and the other two men let their jaws fall to their feet. "That's why I cried out to Dad. Then you lied to _him_, and probably lied to Tori too. You made _me_ look stupid, made me feel like shit. I don't care if I was going overboard before then, or how crazy I was acting, but your actions that night were not right. As you know, I hold a lot of resentment in me, and I don't trust a lot of people. Now I know you and the others want to try and 'make things right' or ask for me to forgive you, but…I'm just going to say, unless you can actually do a 180 and prove to me that you really do give a damn, it's not going to happen."

"Trina, we're…"

"I haven't even forgiven Michael for the things _he_ did, and that was almost six years ago." Her nostrils flared out and her knees started to buckle. Deciding she'd had enough of this, she left them with those final words and started for the door. She didn't want to hear them out, she didn't think they deserved a chance to talk. Not at this point. When she made it to the stairs, she squinted her eyes and quickly looked over to them. "Oh and by the way."

"W-What?"

"I just remembered….so I thought I'd say: I wouldn't date you three if you were the last men on earth." They winced and Beck was clearly shaken, considering he probably had never been so coldly rejected by a woman in his life. "You may think I'm nuts, I'm hyper, and you know what? I'm a lot of things. But Beck? You're a narcissistic asshole. Robbie, you talk to a _puppet_, a non-living puppet and use it to hit on girls, and Andre? I don't even know where to begin with you. You may think I have issues, but you sure don't seem to have the capacity to see your own problems, and that is why, a friendship with you probably wouldn't work. You see, I like people who _can_ acknowledge their own issues and not claim they're better than other people. You're not better than I am because I'm a bit hyper and sometimes self-inflated, something Sinjin teases me about _constantly_. Only, it's playful banter. He teases me about my hyper personality and I tease him about his OCD and strange collections. We're not perfect, and we don't claim to be. You three? The whole lot of you? Yeah…you claim to be perfect and use that claim to tear down those who you think are beneath you. That's the kind of people that you are. I can see _right through you_. So if I seem like a bitch right now, fine. I am."

"We're not like that anymore, Trina, or at least we're-"

"Don't want to hear it. Words mean nothing to me. If you think you're changing, show me. Prove it." She wasted no time in ascending the steps back up to her room. Just before she vanished into the hallway, she turned to see Tori walk up to the men after watching the video, and slap them across the face.

She also heard Tori say she was going to show Jade. Trina didn't want _Jade_, of all people, seeing that video. Yet at this point, she didn't care. Beck might end up telling her anyway.

Trina rushed back to her room and flung herself onto her bed. The tears she'd been holding back flew from her and she instantly pulled the pillow to her. Her entire body was aching and her lungs were screaming as her heart frantically pumped the angry blood through her body. She needed to calm down, to relax.

After a few minutes, the door opened up and her father sat down beside her. She looked up to him as he delicately groomed his fingers through her hair. "Hey. I'm sorry for making you do something you didn't want to do," he spoke softly and passionately. The only man beside Sinjin that cared about her was her father, that's how she felt. She put her head to his leg.

"It's fine, Dad…I guess I did need to get it out of my system. What's Tori doing?"

"She decided to hold Beck, Robbie and Andre downstairs. Your sister's yelling at them now."

"I didn't mean to make her mad at them…" Not that she thought something like that _would_ have made her mad. "Tori's really mad? I mean…those are he friends?" David chuckled softly and lifted his head.

"Tori is your sister, she loves you endlessly. Just like your ancestor and her sister Bethany, who would do _anything_ for her. Tori told her friends already that they needed to stop their disrespect of you, and they seem remorseful, but they're going to need to show both of you girls they mean it."

"I don't know. I don't know if I can trust them, or even believe a word they say."

"I know, sweetheart." He leaned over and gently kissed the top of her head. "But believe your sister does love you and she means well. She's hurt over seeing that video, and Cat doesn't seem too thrilled with Robbie either. You did _not_ see the look on her face when Tori showed her the video."

"I don't want Tori showing people that!"

"She won't show anyone other than those involved, she will respect your privacy at the very least."

"That's a laugh. Tori? Respecting my privacy? Respecting me?" She slowly sat up and wiped away her tears. "You can't honestly tell me that my sister still cares for me when she's let her friends walk over me like that. Lindsay, Quentin, Salome, Bryan, and even Sinjin…I would _never_ have let them walk over Tori. I would never have even let them talk bad about Tori to her friends. They respected that too. Half of my last fights with Lindsay were over me not standing up for myself to them, just letting them walk over me."

"Well. In a way. You did that tonight." As much as it hurt, it felt great to get all of that off her chest. "I'm proud of you, Trina. I will always be proud of you." He hugged her close, comforting her. She started to smile and wrapped her arms around him, hugging her back. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Daddy."

* * *

It was a heavy chapter, it seems. I think it finally hit the guys, the graity of the situation. Now they're all in one place, and Tori's about to call Jade over with some urgent matters regarding Beck. This should be interesting. So, what are your thoughts to how Trina handled the situation, and so on?


	10. Descendent Located

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 10 (Descendent Located)

"This damn spot keeps moving all over the place," Aveline shook the orb and threw it back into her pocket, angry that they weren't making _any_ headway. Jade was trying to tell her that it was possible the descendent was 'driving', which further irritated her. If something was moving at such a high speed, how in the hell were they going to catch it? "Are there any of those…fries…left?"

"Here!" Jade reached into the _Burger King_ bag and handed her a full 'cup' of fries. She'd grown fascinated with these salty morsels, and quickly pulled one out and threw it into her mouth. She'd eaten a 'whopper' as well while walking with Jade, and it was fantastic. "Just be careful not to eat too much, I don't want to be responsible for making my ancestor slow and sluggish…fast food can do that to you."

"Hence why you gave me water instead of that…what did you call it?"

"Coffee. I don't think you could handle it." Aveline raised an eyebrow, huffing at what sounded like a challenge to her. She wasn't in the mood to argue though, she was beginning to grow frustrated that they were losing time. A loud chime struck her ears, startling her as everything else had been doing. She quickly spun towards Jade, ready to attack whatever was around. Jade held up her hand, smiling nervously as she pulled her phone from her pocket. "Sorry about that, it's just my cell phone."

"Ugh…" She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over. "I cannot _wait_ to get back home. I'm starting to get sick of this future." They stopped walking in a parking lot with a bunch of these _cars_ parked all over the place. Jade looked up and pointed to a man walking towards one of the cars. "Who is that?"

"That's Sinjin, apparently friends with Tori's sister. He looks like he's in a hurry. Hey Sinjin! Sinjin, have you spoken to Trina lately?" Sinjin looked over, raising an eyebrow at the two.'

"I was just with her a couple hours ago, she just called me to come over. Apparently Tori's giving everyone hell, you might want to go over and see what the big issue is, because I'm sure Tori's going to want to talk to you too…" Sinjin moved into his car, started it, and sped off. Aveline scrunched her nose and looked to Jade.

"What was that about?" Jade shrugged her shoulders and looked to the phone, stating that the chime was a video message of some sort. "I'm not going to ask…" Maybe Merrill would be more fascinated with this future. "Seems like one of Varric's embellished stories though. I can see him thinking up some of these strange inventions." She stepped forward and looked around the area. "I wonder why there hasn't been a single elf around."

"I don't think they exist anymore. Weren't they a minority back then?"

"Dreadfully so. They were almost extinct in my day...and a lot of them were marrying humans."

"Then that's probably what happened." Jade tapped her phone and started to lower her voice. "Okay Tori says I need to come over and that I need to see this video she sent." Aveline tapped her foot on the ground and put her hands to her hips, narrowing her eyes at the video. Jade moved her hand over her mouth as her eyes remained frozen on this 'phone'. "I didn't know the guys did_ that!_ This isn't going to help us try and get Trina to like us or even trust us, this is going to kill it! Ugh, Beck!"

"Sounds like you're upset with your boyfriend."

"I am! I mean…okay, so I probably would have laughed and encouraged this back then, or I don't know that would have gone that far, but now it's just…I have this sick feeling in my stomach. Grandma, we need to make a quick stop."

"Of…course…"

When they arrived at the house, Aveline opted to remain silent and let Jade do whatever it was she had to do. They saw Sinjin's vehicle parked outside and Jade glanced up to a window, probably where this Trina was.

They entered to find Beck, and two boys sitting on the couch with a brown haired girl pointing her finger at them and berating them. This girl looked remarkably like Bethany, so much so that Aveline was half tempted to look at that orb. There was a red haired girl nearby, brushing her hands through her hair, she had the same distracted look on her face that Merrill always got whenever someone in the group was talking to someone that wasn't her. Aveline bit her lip and looked towards the stairwell.

"What's going on here?" Jade stormed angrily over to her boyfriend and glared into his eyes. "I just got a message from Tori, showing me what you three did to her sister. How _could_ you do that?!"

"We fucked up," Beck muttered, "We know it was wrong. Trina and Tori gave us hell already. So did their dad."

"You don't get it, do you. I want to be her friend too, okay? I'm really _trying_ to make things better, and I have my reasons for doing so. This isn't a joke, I'm sick of being the bad guy here, Beck. We all have to work on it, don't you want to try?"

"I do. We _all_ do, it's just…it's not going to be easy, obviously."

"Well of course not."

"Who is that?" The redheaded girl asked. Aveline raised her eyebrows and suddenly felt everyone's eyes on her. She leaned against the wall and stared back, unsure of what to say in response. "She doesn't look like your grandma, Jade."

"Oh, well it's a long story, Cat. You see, this is my great-great-etcetera grandma from like ancient times. She's trying to find her friend's descendent because their friend is trapped by a spell that a magician from our time put her in and only a descendant can help." The others were clearly skeptical, which didn't come to a shock to Aveline. She half expected them to call Jade a loon, but it sounded like these were her friends, so maybe they wouldn't judge her for being nuts.

"Jade dear," Aveline began, "I'm not sure they're going to believe that. You might as well throw in the slutty pirate as well." Jade raised an eyebrow and the dark-skinned man laughed.

"Funny your 'ancestor' mentions that. I came from a long line of pirates." Aveline turned her sharp glare towards the man, suddenly overwhelmingly curious. How much did these people know about their ancestry, and how far back did they know? Jade told her that people weren't as into their ancestral heritage in these days as they were in her time.

"Oh yeah," Tori remarked, "I joke with Andre all the time whenever we watch Pirates of the Caribbean. I think he'd make a good Jack Sparrow. But still, Jade, your _ancestor?_ What are you trying to pull?" Aveline rolled her head to the side and looked towards the staircase once more, she had an odd feeling growing inside of her. There was something telling her to focus more heavily on the people in this house. _Why_ didn't Bethany and the others think of something to prove their case?

"I'm not trying to pull _anything_, Tori. Honest! We really need to go back and save Aveline's friend. Well…at least we need to find her descendents and convince them of it."

"If we're having trouble believing you, what makes you think a total stranger will?"

"She makes a good point," someone said. Aveline looked back to the stairwell and saw a woman descending the stairs with the boy they saw earlier, Sinjin. Aveline froze, lowering her arms. The woman had soft brown, slightly wavy hair, just like Sarah. She had the same sharp nose, rounded face and stern gaze. Even her strut was similar! She heard Tori refer to the girl as 'Trina'. Aveline knew from what Jade told her that Trina was Tori's sister. "Jade, I don't know what it is you're trying to pull as far as this 'ancestor' stuff goes, but it's clear you're up to something. I don't care if you try to fool me, but you know, stop lying to my sister."

"I'm _not! _Honest!"

"You didn't see the portal that appeared in her room," Beck muttered. The others raised an eyebrow and Trina scoffed. It made sense they wouldn't believe him, given his connection to Jade. "That woman is every bit as frightening as Jade."

Aveline was struggling to think of a way to prove her case to these people, while at the same time, she didn't think it was necessary. Unless of course, one of them was indeed Sarah's descendent. Of course, this Trina _did_ make an overwhelming case for being of the woman's blood. If so, she would need to make her case and make it now.

She pushed herself from the wall, listening as Jade started pleading with her to say something. "While I'm not sure how to prove I'm an ancestor, I suppose I could try. I am from the 1400s, a time when Mages and Dalish Elves roamed the streets."

"Elves?" Trina started to crack up, her lips turning into a smirk. "That's like Dad's bedtime stories, they didn't exist. Come on. Magic, elves, large giant dragons rivaling that of the ancient dinosaurs? They're mythical, every bit as mythical as a unicorn." Aveline raised an eyebrow and scrunched her face.

"Unicorns didn't even exist in my timeline…" Of course there'd been tales from ancient time of horses with horns and wings, but they were typically part of Greek or Roman myth. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a troubled sigh. _"Sure didn't make this easy on me."_

"Look. Jade." Trina walked around the couch and stopped in front of Jade, staring into her eyes with a very low anger. "I know how impressionable my sister is, and how easily influenced she is. She and I grew up with Dad reading us stories every night of these fantasy creatures, and we always dreamed of them. Tori…more so than even I did…so don't come in here and try to trick her into thinking that nonsense is real, with the intent of some malicious plot of yours that I can't even begin to figure out."

"I'm being sincere. This is my ancestor, Aveline. Aveline Vallen…" Trina's eyes widened briefly and her lips thinned. Tori seemed to light up at the mention of what must have been familiar to her. Did they know of her tale?

"Jade. How could you even…Tori you weren't telling them about Dad's stories were you?"

"No."

Aveline's leg started to burn, something was heating it up. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the orb, startled by is red glow. The others looked at it and silence filled the air. Jade's eyes widened and her jaw dropped to the floor. The orb was no longer white with a small dot inside, the blood had expanded fully and overtook the entire orb. It looked like it was even trying to break out. "Oh my god, Grandma, it…it can't be…"

She spoke slowly and very quietly, her heart was pounding in her chest and excitement was rushing through her. "Sarah's descendent…is standing in this room…" She could leap for joy, but opted to remain stoic at best, she still had a job to do. "Sarah Hawke's descendant…is here…" It was as though she were standing directly in front of her, and Trina was standing beside Jade, the closest to Aveline and her orb.

Trina's eyes flicked up from the orb and narrowed upon Aveline. Her arms folded over and her shoulders broadened. "You know about my 'ancestor'?" Trina shot Jade a glare, then looked back to Aveline. "Fine. You have a few minutes to plead your case. Nobody knows about that story, so let's see what you know. I know dad's storybook by heart, I wonder if your story collaborates with it…convince me, or tell me what Jade's putting you up to."

Yes! The opportunity she was looking for, a chance to prove her case. This Trina seemed to be fit, and perhaps she could be trained to be a fighter. "All right." A smile grew on her face. "As me anything and I'll explain everything."

* * *

The next chapter is make-it or break-it for the ancestors, if she can't convince Trina, then the mission is lost. As for Trina, her skepticism and disbelief is not unfounded. Tell me your thoughts


	11. Going Back in Time

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 11 (Going Back in Time)

Trina didn't know who this person was, or what she wanted, but she wasn't to be easily swayed. She had to admit, the gizmo in the woman's hand was very realistic looking. No one else spoke, and Tori slowly stepped beside her, growing overeager to hear what this person had to say. She didn't like it, she didn't want Tori to be misled or fooled, and was still heavily skeptical of what Jade might be trying to pull.

"May as well hear her out," Sinjin remarked. He moved beside her and shrugged his shoulders, "If you still think she's up to something, then let that be it." There was a strong determination in this woman's eyes, as if it meant life or death. Sinjin turned his gaze upon the woman, speaking with strong skepticism. "You say your name's Aveline? All right then, tell us what's going on and how you heard about Trina's ancestor. Trina's my...friend, I don't like people who try to deceive, or harm her." His eyes flicked towards Tori's friends, and they all shrank under hisglare.

"I don't lie," Aveline said with a clear voice. "I never lie." Trina laughed out once and looked to Jade, who immediately shrank away. So Jade's 'ancestor' was a woman who never lied? How amazing! What a story this was playing out to be. "My name is Aveline, and I _know_ Sarah Hawke. She is one of my closest friends and I am the Captain of the Kirkwall Guard." Trina's eyebrows rose and her skepticism diminished slightly, she still needed proof. "We're in the middle of heavy tension between the Mages and Templars right now, we think Meredith and, or, Orsino will snap soon."

"So why aren't you there, then?" Trina still wasn't sure about this woman. How she knew these facts was uncertain, but she wasn't seeing any clear evidence still. "If you're really Aveline, you should be there fighting Meredith and Orsino."

"Well they haven't done anything _yet_. The problem we're facing right now is Sarah is in danger. Her life, and the fate of Kirkwall hangs in the balance." Trina raised an eyebrow and felt Tori grab her arm. She started to roll her eyes and declare this woman to be a nutcase. "One of the last few Mages from this time, I suppose, came to our time and used some form of blood magic on Sarah. She's in such a deep sleep that Bethany, Merrill and even Anders couldn't wake her."

"Anders?" Sinjin scoffed and crossed his arms, "The traitor?" Of course, Sinjin didn't like the story of that man. One of the few characters of her father's tales that he disliked, only because he betrayed everyone in the end.

"I don't think he's a traitor yet," Trina assured him. This was judged by the sudden confused look on Aveline's face, clearly she wasn't aware that Anders was going to bomb the chantry. "Seems to be before the all out war actually breaks out." She looked back to Aveline and lowered her arms. "If you really came from back then…cause I recognize some of the names you just mentioned…then when did you come back from? What's going on right now?"

"Well…we just rescued Bethany from a group of Mages who had her in a comatose state, but the mages could break that one. As for Anders? I don't know about him being a traitor…though he has been acting suspiciously, he asked Sarah's help in something but she wouldn't work with him due to the suspicious nature of what he wanted to collect."

"Makes sense." It went along with her father's stories, and was such a small detail that might have been overlooked by anyone trying to construe such a malicious plot. The same was said of Bethany's rescue. Her eyes drifted to the orb, she was beginning to suspect maybe a validity of truth to this. "If Sarah is in some sort of danger, why are you here? This magic…"

"It is a type of blood magic that Bethany and Merrill have stated can only be broken by the blood of a child or descendent. We also have no idea where Sarah is now, this mage…'Erin'…transported her body to one of her own ancestors in our timeline. It could be either Meredith, Orsino, or the child they had together…which, shocked us to find out…"

Her eyebrows rose and she looked to Sinjin, meeting his concerned gaze. It was another small fact, something her father would often end the complete story with. The fact that it was merely suspected that Meredith and Orsino had a child together. "Okay…Aveline…keep talking."

"Right." Aveline closed her hand and beat it down onto her palm. "Bethany held the portal open with her own magic, and is trying to keep it open. If it closes, She, Anders and Merrill are going to have to find a way to open it up again wherever I am at. They do have a drop of my blood to make it happen. Unfortunately that means Merrill had to use the blood magic she was struggling to not use. It was an emergency though, it had to be done…"

"I was about to ask how you'd detect us or even how you'd know _Jade_ might be your ancestor?"

"Merrill's blood magic. First she had to use this magic to make us undergo an almost fever-like state when we meet our descendent. The descendent would be going through the same symptoms we would. Should have been just me, but the magic affected everyone apparently. The symptoms would flare up when we're close and would only go away when we make contact with the descendent."

"I thought I was coming down with something," Jade stated from behind. "My body grew hot, and I thought I could smell my own blood! Ask Beck, when that portal opened in my room, I started thinking I was bleeding because I _smelled blood_. It all went away the minute Aveline and I shook hands."

Trina crossed her arms and started to walk across the room, staring up at a picture on the fireplace. She narrowed her eyes and spun around, still suspicious. "And I guess that thing in your hand has something to do with me and Tori?" Aveline lifted the object and nodded.

"Yes. Anders created the crystallized orb and Sebastian put a drop of his blood inside." Sebastian? The archer? She tilted her head and continued to tap her foot on the floor. Studying Tori, she could see the girl believed everything Aveline was saying. She had the same hope in her eyes that it was real. Trina, however, wanted to hear more before she'd even start to believe. Aveline took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "The blood would be in the form of a tiny dot moving in the direction of the descendent. It would flare up and enlarge the closer we came. My descendent here, Jade, insisted she help look."

"It's that fact right there that makes me remain suspicious of you. If you were claiming to be _anyone else's_ ancestor I might believe you more." Jade frowned and the others shrugged their shoulders, all well aware of the reason for Trina's disbelief. "You say my ancestor's life is in danger, why am I still standing?"

"Because Sebastian and Sarah have already had a child. Their baby remains in the Hawke Estate right now, being watched over by the housemaid and servant." Tori began to grin, claiming how she just knew Sebastian and Sarah were always true loves. Trina rolled her eyes and took a step forward.

"Okay let's say I believe you. What next? I know a thing or two about martial arts, I could probably fight through _some_ mages and…demons that also shouldn't exist…shades and whatnot. How do you plan on getting back?"

"Bethany's holding the portal open while Merrill and Anders try to figure out a portal spell of their own. Bethany's having to focus her time and energy on that portal, but if it closes she's going to start working more furiously with them. Even when you come and help us, after waking your ancestor, we can still reopen a portal back here because you parent would be here."

"Uh huh…" Trina heard her father gushing and looked over to see the man grinning from the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and walked over. "Dad, are you believing this?"

"Yes. Remember growing up I told you how I had the only copy of Varric's book?"

"Varric!" Aveline laughed once and put her hand to her stomach. "He was always putting our adventures down on paper. I'm amazed his works have been around this long, he will be amazed to hear that." Trina looked over to the woman, groaning in disbelief. She felt her father's hand on her shoulder and looked over to him.

"Trina, you have a duty to your ancestor. You have to save her life…"

"What? Dad! You _believe _this crock?" She pointed to Jade and narrowed her eyes. "_Jade_ is the one saying this! How do we know she didn't find that book, find someone like Aveline and make all of this up just to mess with us! She's already got Tori believing, don't fall on me Dad. Come on…don't fall now."

"Trina think about it," Jade began, "What reason would I have to make up something so complex like this?" Trina spun around, glaring angrily at the girl. Jade put her hands to her chest and shook her head, "I gain nothing from this. I have no reason to do something like this to you. It's real, it's true, I am _not_ lying to you. I promise!"

"I don't believe your promises, Jade. I don't believe any of your crap." Trina moved over, glaring at Jade and the rest of the friends. "I wouldn't be surprised if all of you had a hand in this, to be honest. Trying to trick us into thinking we have to go on some dangerous mission to save my ancestor and help put a stop to a dangerous war. While sure, it doesn't sound like something you might do, I can't help but to think you have something to do with this whole mess. The whole lot of you!"

"You really don't trust us that much?" Cat asked. "What can we do to prove that we're trying to change."

"Oh I don't know, join me on this alleged mission maybe?" She laughed at her own joke and the others all began to shift in their seats. "You'd all stand behind Jade no matter what, anyway." Trina turned to Aveline, meeting the woman's eyes. She was still remaining very calm, opting to not get involved in this argument. "Look, I'm really sorry you're seeing all this right now. There's a lot of drama going on here, and well…I don't know if they put you up to this or how Jade got her hands on my father's book, but-"

Within an instant, a bright flash blinded her. The others in the room cried out and everyone shielded their eyes until the flash went away. Aveline looked to her right and everyone followed her gaze, gawking at what was standing in the middle of the room. A large white rectangular light, about seven feet in height, had just appeared like a portal.

A woman that bore a strong resemblance to Tori stepped halfway out the portal and looked around the room, stopping her eyes on Aveline. "Aveline! We've found you." The woman leaned back into the portal, shouting out. "Anders! Merrill! It worked! It opened up right where Aveline is! I'm going in!"

Aveline stepped beside Trina, giving her a smug smirk as she put her hand to Trina's shoulder. "That would be Bethany." Trina couldn't believe her eyes. This was _impossible!_

"N-No…that…Mages aren't real though. Elves don't exist, demons and monsters aren't around…"

"Not in 2013 sure, but they are very real in our time. As for those demons. Shade demons, rage demons and whatnot? They're created mostly by the abominations."

Bethany walked out of the portal, her eyes locking with Tori and Trina. She started to smile and put her hands to her chest. "I see Aveline's found you. We need you, Sarah needs you. Please…help us…" She was speechless, and kept looking back and forth from Bethany to Tori. Tori had a grin stretching from ear to ear, and all of Tori's friends were gazing in awe at this woman in old style robes.

"Hey Bethany, I should tell you about these things called 'French fries'," Aveline muttered. Bethany raised an eyebrow and Aveline walked over to her. "My god I'm missing our timeline. You wouldn't believe the things that I've been through, or even what the first thing I wound up seeing was!"

"Grandma no!" Jade cried out. Beck's eyes widened and Trina raised an eyebrow.

"I-I don't know how to do what you all do," Trina admitted. "I know a little martial arts, but that's it." Tori nudged her and she quickly looked over.

"Trina you're a great fighter! You know you are! Don't sell yourself short."

"Still…I don't know how much help I'll be."

Bethany rubbed her chin and slowly nodded her head, "We can train you. Teach you the ropes. Anders, Merrill and I have also made it so this portal will stay open and hidden." Aveline pushed her hands into her pockets and frowned.

"I'm guessing the other one closed?"

"Yes it did."

"Great…" Trina started to stumble over, still overcome with disbelief and shock. Sinjin and Tori held her up and she shook her head. "So. Trina. What do you say? Sarah needs your help, big time."

"I don't have much choice do I?" She put her hand to her forehead. Confliction ravaged her like a storm. If she went, she'd have to learn to fight and she would have a hard time dealing with everything going on around her. Though, she knew the story best and could use that to her advantage. "F-Fine…" She turned her gaze to her father, her voice squeaked when she called out to him. "I'll be home soon?"

"I know you will," David replied, giving her a soft and reassuring smile. "Do your best Trina. I believe in you."

"My god…Sinjin? Would you…"

"I'll be at your side," He confirmed. Clearly he wasn't going anywhere. Tori walked with him as well, leading her towards the portal. The friends started to get up too, but she paid them no mind. She heard someone say they wanted to be there for her, and before she could react, she was walking through the portal with Sinjin and Tori.

This was it, there was no going back now. She wanted to save her ancestor though, she had to. Of course, she wanted to apologize to Jade for thinking she thought up some elaborate hoax. Things were a bit different now, it seemed. She hated to admit, but she was incredibly scared to be doing this. Surely Tori and Sinjin were too. No one had any idea what they were getting themselves into.

* * *

There you have it, they have entered into the past. I think the conversation went well, did you? We'll see what is to come.

Oh it might interest you to know, I saw this quote from one of the companions in the game before Dragon Age 2 (not going to have an affect in this story but still, the quote is good to know since it could technically explain certain factors such as disappearances of demons and whatnot). Morrigan says to the Grey Warden (before Hawke's time) before vanishing: "Change is coming to the world. Many fear change, and will fight it with every fiber of their being, but sometimes change is what they need most...sometimes, change is what sets them free." She doesn't say what she's doing or where she's going, but it can be implied that this person has to do with the way things are in this present day.


	12. At All Costs

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 12 (At All Costs)

"Sinjin, maybe you should have let your family know what you're doing," Trina said as they moved through the bright portal. Sinjin shrugged his shoulders and flashed a brief smirk.

"They wouldn't believe me."

"Yeah, neither would I…" When they stepped out, Trina was startled by the appearance of an entirely new world. The air was cleaner than LA's air, the wind had a warm breeze that blew through her hair. Aveline and Bethany walked past them, with Bethany still staring at the outfit Aveline was wearing. "This has to be a dream." She looked from Sinjin to Tori, chuckling nervously as they scanned the surroundings.

"For a dream, it kind of sucks," Sinjin muttered. "I am not feeling too well all of a sudden, it's like my body's on fire." She stiffened while Bethany and Aveline looked over. The dream was soon to be a nightmare as she heard each of Tori's friends from behind. A surge of anger shot through her and she spun on her heels, glaring at them. They froze under her glare, none of them were able to speak except Jade, who bravely stepped forward.

"We wanted to join you, Trina. We wanted to help."

"If this is your attempt at trying to win me over, then you may as well turn around and go back through that portal."

"No. We're _staying_." Trina narrowed her eyes and looked to the others, each of them were beginning to sweat, and it wasn't even that hot! Cat wiped her brow while Andre started moaning about feeling worse than when they were stuck in Beck's RV. Jade glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes, "What's wrong with you guys?"

"It's Merrill's spell," Bethany gasped. "They're descendents!" Trina's eyes began to widen while Aveline asked where the others were. "Right around the corner, I have to let them know!" She didn't want to believe these people were descendents of these legends, and how could she? The shocking thing was that Sinjin was undergoing this effect too, so _who_ was his descendent. Tori wasn't going through it, and neither was she, but there was likely good reason for that.

"Oh god," Sinjin stumbled to the right and Trina quickly rushed to his side. Tori hurried over, helping her move Sinjin against a rock. He put his hand over his abdomen and leaned his head back, staring up at the sky. "I feel incredibly sick. It's almost like…there's some kind of…" She felt his head, growing incredibly worried for his safety as he continued to moan.

"Shh, it's going to be all right Sinjin. Just…we need to find out who your ancestor is, then it'll be fine. Just hang in there."

"There's something else," Tori nudged her and rubbed her own stomach, "There's like a strange feeling in my stomach. Do you feel it? I'm not feeling feverish, just, nauseous."

"No…"

"How can you not feel it?!" Cat shrieked from where she was standing. "I feel like I'm about to explode!" She, Tori, and Sinjin seemed to be worse off. Despite the fact that Tori wasn't experiencing any pain, she was still moaning over a strange feeling inside of her. Trina was scared for them, and immediately called Aveline and Bethany for help. That's when she saw them.

Anders, Isabela, Sebastian, Merrill, Fenris, and Varric. All of the legends were walking towards them. She was paralyzed, studying them one by one. The dwarf, Varric, burly and strong looking with a charming smile. Fenris, the broody _elf_ with white hair and tattoo markings that had been carved into him with magic. Merrill, the elf mage who was struggling to quit blood magic. Isabela, the witty pirate, and Anders, the one who would destroy the lives of the innocent. She knew each of their destinies by heart, and couldn't _believe_ they were here.

Bethany introduced them all while Tori's friends individually sat beside Sinjin at the rocks. She could see sweat pouring down their faces, all except Sebastian. Her Grandfather. The friends seemed to be terrified at first, but they relaxed. "I can explain the feeling inside you three," Bethany began, "It's magic. You've always had it, but the second you step into this time…through that portal…I guess that tapped into it. You're descended from Mages."

"Oh," Sinjin chuckled helplessly and closed his eyes, "Great. Which one am I descended from, then?" Trina remained kneeling beside him, slowly running her trembling fingers through his hair and kissing his forehead.

"Just stay calm Sinji. We'll get to the bottom of this." They knew the obvious, Bethany and Tori were tied in an odd way. With her being the great-great aunt. So it left Merrill, or despairingly so, Anders. Sinjin seemed well aware of this, and not a bit pleased. Trina didn't care, there were at least five hundred years worth of difference between them, and he would never resort to vile acts to prove a point.

"She looks just like her," she heard Sebastian whisper. She bowed her head and Jade immediately requested everyone figure out who was whose descendent so they could get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on. "Now the question is which one is Anders's…" Sinjin rolled his eyes and Trina quickly looked up, remembering that it was Sebastian that never got along with well Anders. None of them really trusted him.

_"Shit."_

"Trina," Sinjin whispered while gazing into her eyes. "I really don't want to see my ancestor have to die, you know…why the hell is _he_ my ancestor?" She smiled lovingly at him and lifted her shoulders.

"I guess it just figures, huh? It doesn't matter though, Sinji…I don't care who your ancestors were." Though it did bring up the question of how in the hell Anders found time to have children, and did he even _know_ he had kids? She looked over her shoulder at the buff, orange haired mage with the grey renegade coat and black staff. "Anders…come here…" The mage raised his eyebrows and started to make his way over, gazing nervously at Sinjin. "Help him. Please."

Sinjin slowly reached out, moaning in defeat as Anders grabbed his hand. In that moment, Sinjin's body started to relax and his eyes opened fully. Anders gave a chuckle and Sebastian did a double take. "Wow…So…"

"Just one question," Sinjin began, "When have you found the time to have kids?" Isabela stepped next to Anders and smirked at the mage.

"Ooh, you've been more active than I have, haven't you Anders?" The man started to blush and helped Sinjin up to his feet. Trina and Tori rose up and watched as the others went to the group sitting down.

"There was this one woman I met at my clinic a few years ago," Anders suggested while running his hand through his hair. "I haven't heard from her sense. A Ferelden refugee, I think." Sinjin scoffed and smacked his hand into the air.

"He doesn't even _know!_ Great! Go figure, my mom said I come from a long line of women whose husbands were never known. Deserters and cowards, the whole lot of them." Trina rubbed his back and slowly looked towards the others.

"Isabela, Andre said he had pirate ancestors," Aveline pointed to Andre and Isabela's eyebrows instantly rose. A smirk formed on her face as she quickly pulled Andre to his feet. The boy's ashen, sweat covered face started to relax as he turned his gaze towards Isabela.

"Whoa, you're my ancestor?"

"You don't look too shabby yourself," She joked while looking at the outfit he was wearing. "Aveline, where on earth did you find these people anyway? What are they wearing, and how did you manage to get all our descendents together?"

"Luck. Somehow our descendents have crossed paths together. There are probably hundreds of descendents out there, I just happened to get sent to the place where all of them were together. Strange as it is...might have to do with Merrill's spell that affected all of us."

Trina couldn't help but to giggle when she saw the look on Robbie's face as Varric shook his hand. Robbie, the tallest of Tori's friends, descended from the shortest of her ancestor's friends. Robbie looked perplexed when he stood and peered down at his grandfather. "I didn't know dwarfism ran in the family," Robbie muttered. Varric raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

"Well you could be considered a giant. We dwarves come from a long, noble and prideful heritage." He proudly beat his chest, causing Robbie to smile. "Also, we _honor_ our ancestors...which, actually, makes this a little strange." Varric rubbed his chin and paced from side to side. From the stories told, Dwarves were very respectful of ancestors, believing the ancestors were the ones looking down on them and guiding them, and so forth. Like gods almost, always to be revered. When they prayed , it was to the ancestors.

Trina turned her eyes towards Beck, who was looking Fenris up and down. She folded her arms and a cocky expression grew on her.

"Oh Beck, you're descended from Fenris. I know his story, he is a free man now and a proud one. He used to be a slave, and from what I understand, he's now an incredibly powerful warrior. Beck rubbed the back of his hair and nodded.

A tentative Merrill sat beside Cat, rubbing the anxious redhead's shoulder. "I'm surprised, you don't have my ears," Merrill commented, "I do so wonder how that's possible, Beck doesn't have Fenris's ears either." Cat tucked her hair back, laughing nervously. "Anyway, you're a mage like me it seems. I'll try to teach you everything I know about magic!"

"We all need to teach them a few things," Aveline suggested. "In the end, we need their help in finding Sarah and putting a stop to Meredith's and Orsino's silly little war.

"I'll try to find out what I can from the circle," Bethany folded her arms and closed her eyes, seemingly upset over something the others didn't know. "I know they're looking for me, I'll have to return. Aveline, since you're Sarah's closest, and the Captain of the Guard, I'm trusting you to be in charge." Aveline nodded, not hesitating a single moment. "This portal will remain hidden until we are able to send them back home. Until we find and rescue my sister, we need to train them the best we can. Don't stop until you find her, I don't care who you have to go through Aveline, just _find my sister."_

At all costs? Trina looked to Tori and brightened up. She'd do anything for her sister, no matter what. If she were in danger, she'd go after her. It was great to see that dynamic was there between Sarah and Bethany.

They arrived at the 'fabled' Hawke Estate in Hightown. The house was large, two stories with red carpeting and a brown staircase. There was a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a blonde elf maid in the corner and standing at the opposite wall were two dwarves. One older looking one with red hair and a red beard, and another younger man with a shaved head and large ears. They introduced themselves as Bodahn and Sandal. The companions explained the circumstances to them and while they were greatly worried, they understood and agreed to help no matter the costs.

"There is certainly not room for all of you here," Aveline said as Trina and Tori's friends lined up along the east wall. The companions stood behind Aveline, all grinning at their descendents. "That's why, I think it's best that you remain with your ancestor, learn what they have to teach you and join the fray when needed as we do for Sarah. Surely we can't have twelve people rushing around Kirkwall, we'd catch too much attention."

"She has a very good point," Trina scratched her forehead and looked to the others. She was still disgusted with them being here, but she was dealing with it. "You've made your decision, so I guess I have no choice. Maybe we should just alternate. Aveline how many of you usually travel with Sarah?"'

"About three of us are always with her at one time."

"Okay…So maybe I'll alternate."

"Good idea, you can't just go with favorites you have to know your team and know what their specialties are. Depending on what battle you're going into, use a strategy you know will work. For instance…" Aveline motioned to Anders, "Anders is a healer. If you know you have to endure and fight a large number of incredibly strong opponents, Anders can use magic to heal people, so Sarah may take him."

"Yeah…I definitely want to travel with my sister and Sinjin." Tori's friends gazed inquisitively at her, each looked upset that she wouldn't even name one of them as a third companion. "I don't know who does what yet, except for the fact that apparently we have three mages."

"We'll figure everything out soon enough." It was a good idea to travel light though, when they were walking into town there were an incredible amount of people staring at them. It was likely due to what they were wearing, which was something else they needed to deal with, but it could also be attributed to their convoy-like size. "First we need to teach you guys how to fight, what to do, we need to get you in…time-appropriate clothes, and then figure out where in the hell that witch is holding Sarah."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Of course." Aveline began pointing to each person and gesturing them to their respective ancestor. "Andre, you're with Isabela. Robbie you have to stay with Varric. Beck, Fenris's mansion is a few doors away. Cat, you need to go with Merrill, and Jade, you'll be with me." They started to move towards their ancestor while Anders remained at Trina's side, unsure whether he wanted to part. "Sinjin. I know it doesn't seem right, but you'll have to go with Anders. Trina's a strong girl, she can fend for herself."

"That's not exactly the issue I'm struggling with," Sinjin muttered. Trina lifted her eyes skyward while smirking.

"I'll be all right Sinji, just go."

"All right, all right…" Trina watched him walk towards Anders, her heart went out to him and she turned her mournful gaze to Tori. It seemed the two sisters were deemed to remain in this mansion together. She heard Cat say something about her phone not working, and the others rolled their eyes, already having figured phones wouldn't work in older times. Sinjin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah Cat, I don't think you'll get service in 1450."

"Anyhow," Aveline cleared her throat and straightened herself. "I will be in contact. I think it's best you explore the cities here, but also it may be best to do so with one of us, or at the very least with Bodahn or Sandal here. You need to know about everything here…Thank you again, Trina and Tori, for coming to assist."

"Well, anything for our ancestor!" Tori gushed. Trina chuckled and bowed her head, smiling slightly. This was going to be an interesting ride, she knew that already.

* * *

So what do you think of the connections? Any thoughts on the reactions or who is who's link into the past? Let me know your observations and thoughts.


	13. Study

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 13 (Studying)

Tori played with the small toddler in the bedroom while Trina sat at her ancestor's desk. Above the desk was the family crest, which looked like two birds facing each other with their talons meeting and their wings out behind them. She heard the toddler laugh and Trina slowly looked over, smiling as she watched the two. She was making a promise to that baby, she'd find her mother. Sebastian told them the baby's name was Rachel and she was the light of Sarah's world.

It was strange that Sebastian didn't stay in the estate, but he had duties at the Chantry. That was understandable.

She slowly pulled her cell phone from her pocket and peered down at it with raging curiosity. The phone was still _on_, the battery life was full and could probably be charged by electric mage powers if possible, but there were no bars. She'd checked the clock on her phone, synced it with the watch she had on her wrist, and gauged by the sun in the sky that they were all in approximately the same time. It could be useful to have such futuristic items. It went without saying, the friends probably had futuristic items on them as well. _"I wonder how well Daddy's 9mm would fare against some of the creatures today…"_

Probably not well, when considering the magic in today's time.

"Tori. Why are your friends even here?" Tori quickly looked up as the young toddler curled into her lap. Trina pushed the phone back into her pocket and lifted her hand, pushing her hair back. "Seriously, they don't even need to be here. It's dangerous for one thing, but-"

"They're here for you, Trina. I guess they see this adventure as an opportunity to make things right." Trina rolled her eyes and turned to the desk, picking up a pen she had carried over with her. Tori looked over and raised her eyebrows. "Are you writing on a sheet of paper with an ink pen? Don't they have feathers to write with or something?"

"I prefer writing with a pen than to dip feathers into ink. Especially when I'm taking notes." She had her ancestor's journal with her and was writing down all the important facts of the places her ancestor was in. The pen she was using was a round silver ballpoint pen that she loved. It has a checker pattern on the cap and a rounded bulb on the back of the pen, which emitted a small light when she pressed the button on the side. "Have to do the research, Tori. We're in an old place, you think we know everything just because we know Daddy's stories?"

"No…So this is what you spend all your time in your room doing, huh? Research?"

"Studying, yeah, I am a college student now."

"Right…I wish Bethany didn't have to go back to that Circle place. We won't get to see her. Did you find anything on that?"

"Yes." Tori walked over to Trina, letting the toddler play with its toy on the ground. Trina had some notes written down already of the entry into her ancestor's journal regarding what The Circle was. In ancient history regarding the Chantry, they used magic within their own walls to keep up an eternal flame in every cathedral. These mages would be put to lighting candles and lamps within every cathedral. In protest, a group of mages snuffed out these sacred flames and barricaded themselves within the confines of the choir area. The Divine at the time, essentially the equivalent of the head nun in Trina's time, was outraged by this. Twenty-one days, the fires remained unlit while negotiations were conducted as legend goes, by shouting back and forth from the loft.

After this period, the mages were allowed to go into exile in a remote fortress outside the capital, where they would be kept under watch of the Templars and a council of their own elder magi. They would be placed outside normal society, outside the chantry in a closed society much like a reservation. This society would be called The Circle.

"The circle is the dominant organization for training of mages within nations of Thedas," Tori read, her eyes drifting form word to word. Trina leaned back, chewing absently on the tip of her pen. "It is governed and monitored by the Chantry. The Circle is allowed to take any child from their families as soon as they show signs of magical ability, including those from royals and nobility…that child is raised and trained by the circle until they reach adulthood, at which time they either go through the Harrowing or be made Tranquil. What's that?"

"The harrowing is a test to become a full member of the circle. They enter into a dreamlike state that is called _the fade_ in which they are tempted by demons. If the mage resists, they are a full member. If they don't resist, they are killed by Templars standing around in wait." Tori's frowned and Trina's blood ran cold, she had to do everything to make sure Tori didn't fall into the hands of the Circle. Of course, there was also Sinjin, who was still with Anders, and that could be a problem. "As far as a mage being made tranquil, it's believed that the tranquil can no longer be possessed by demons. They are cut off from the fade, meaning they can no longer dream. That being said…their emotional center is completely removed. To be made tranquil is apparently something that even the Chantry deems wrong unless there is strong and correct reason to do that."

"Oh my god…What have we got ourselves into?"

"Deep shit? Let's continue studying…" Tori slowly nodded her head and continued to read the journal entry regarding the Circle.

"The Circles refers to Circle fortresses and usually are located in remote, difficult to reach areas. There are outposts in major cities for purpose of trade, though. The Circle maintains a neutral policy, since the Chantry could take action against them if they get into the habit of getting involved into conflicts." Tori straightened herself and exhaled slowly. "Trina, I'm not sure what to make of this Circle."

Trina narrowed her eyes and moved her pen to the sheet of paper on the desk. "Me either…" She pulled her phone from her pocket once more and Tori stared at it. "Tori, how is this phone able to turn on right now? I understand the battery giving it the juice it needs, but other than that…it's still pretty useless."

"Could work if it worked like one of those radio communicators though, couldn't it?"

"Maybe." It was a blackberry, much like what Sinjin and a couple of Tori's friends had, and she knew they had walkie-talkie like communications, but she was skeptical about whether or not it would truly work. "If you're a mage, you could potentially enchant this phone to work, couldn't you?"

"Maybe, but I don't know how…I'm just discovering this stuff." Tori lifted her hand up and frowned as she formed a glowing white circle around her hand. "Before she left, Bethany told me what she could, but…I still don't know how to deal with all the advanced stuff."

"You're just going to have to learn from Merrill and Anders then. I'm sure they'll be able to really help."

"Yeah…I guess so."

"Didn't Bethany say they had an uncle living over in Lowtown somewhere? Gamlen, I think his name was." A real prick, from the sound of it. At the same time, judging by how Bethany spoke of him, he was also a compassionate person. "We should probably let him in on what's happened with Sarah…among others…I wonder if we shouldn't notify Meredith…"

Who all would they have to notify besides Gamlen? Grand Cleric Elthina of the Chantry? Orsino and Meredith? "Trina, think about who they are. We can't even know if one of them is the ancestor that has Sarah! We can't _trust_ Meredith _or _Orsino. Plus if we were to tell Meredith a mage put the Champion down like a diseased dog, it might start something…"

At the mention of 'dog', the big Mabari pup, King, lifted his head up from the ground. The dog was laying on the bed, watching over the family. He was yellow like a Labrador and built like a Great Dane. One of the greatest types of guard dogs out there.

"But remember, Orsino and Meredith _both__trust_ Sarah. They turn to her for guidance. If they know something's wrong with her…they might try to help. This is before their big mess." They would know she's missing eventually, Trina didn't think she looked that much like Sarah. She may, however, but she didn't think she wanted to chance it. "I can't go around pretending I'm Kirwall's champion, either."

"We have to do _something_."

"We are doing something. We're _here_. Trying to study these things and get to work on fixing the problems…" Studying was always a chore, boring but necessary. She needed to understand what was going on. She scratched her head and leaned back in the wooden chair, sighing in boredom. She really missed Sinjin, her heart mourned over the fact that he wasn't here and she couldn't talk to him. She didn't want to alarm anyone over it, though. "How far away is Darktown, I wonder? I know Anders has his clinic there…"

"Aveline said if we go anywhere we shouldn't travel alone. Not to mention, we still need clothes."

"We already have that dealt with." She pointed to the wardrobe beside the bed and smirked. "Sarah's clothes fit me perfectly, and I know Bethany is sending in some of hers for you. Anyway, have a seat, we have a long night ahead of us…"

At Anders's clinic in Darktown, Sinjin watched his ancestor work to heal the sick patients coming in and laying on fur topped wooden beds. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over. His eyes drifted to his watch and his eyebrows rose up, it must be around 5:00. The sun seemed to match where the time would be, but this was just one of those eras where it probably didn't matter.

"I can see it in your eyes," Anders walked over to him, frowning as he crossed his arms. "You think I'm a killer. What have you heard of me?"

"Stuff I don't feel comfortable telling you about that's coming in the future. Just know, I know what you did that Trina's ancestor wanted nothing to do with." Anders slowly nodded his head and motioned for him to follow. Sinjin pushed himself from the wall and followed the man over to one of the patients on the bed.

"You probably don't see the things that I see, people come into my clinic all the time…having been attacked by the Templars or attacked by Mages and what does the Chantry do? All they do is sit idly by, playing their 'neutrality' card. They sit as a chance of compromise, and what I believe is, they're useless."

"You're going to kill innocent lives."

"That may be, but it will get the point across."

"You might start a war…and I want nothing to do with it. I'd rather not have to deal with Trina deciding whether or not to kill me." He watched Anders perform magic on the patient and send them on their way after checking to make sure they were okay. His foot tapped absently on the ground as he gazed outside the door to the clinic. "This place is…very drab…"

"This town used to be a mining town long ago. The mineshafts were extended beneath the disposing sewage from Kirkwall's population of slaves. There's this group called the Tevinter Slavers…Fenris used to be a slave, we freed him from there. The same is said of Hawke's maid, she _pays_ the woman so she's given her a job. As for Darktown…" Anders pat his hands together and straightened himself. "These tunnels were a refuge for those fleeing the slavers. We call this place the 'undercity', home to all kinds of people…sick, insane, criminals, and even the dead…so yeah, I can understand why you might say it's 'drab' here."

He coughed at his ancestor's words, now concerned that they were in the middle of treacherous territory. It was still home, though, as far as Anders seemed concerned. "Sounds bad…" He almost didn't want Trina or her sister wandering around Darktown, but Trina could handle herself just fine.

"Well, it _is_ my home and this is my job. Stay out of the sewers here and you'll be fine, it's like a maze down there. You're welcome to join Varric or Isabela over at the Hangman Pub in Lowtown, but I'm trying to teach you how to deal with your magic. It's take it or leave it, you know…whether you like your ancestor or not, I am the one in charge. If you want to be an asset to Trina, you have to know how to deal with your capabilities."

Those were powerful words, impacting deep inside him. He folded his arms and bowed his head, "Yeah, you're right. I can't let her down, especially not when Tori's friends are all full of crap." Anders turned his gaze to him and started to smile. Sinjin looked up, noticing the man's attentive stare. Feeling uncomfortable, he started to bark at the guy, but chose to keep his composure. "What is it?"

"You care for her, I could see it when you two were out on the Wounded Coast. You love her?"

"What's it to you?"

"Just a question." Anders rubbed his face and sighed as the last patient left the clinic. He walked to the door and shut it, locking them with some rope tied around the knobs. Sinjin sat on a crate and scratched at an itch on the back of his neck. "Now whatever it is you may know that I_ don't_…please put it out of your mind, if you can. We have to work together, and for a mutual cause. Not just to try and stop whatever is going to happen between Meredith and Orsino, sure that is important but I think you know as well as I, or any of the other friends of ours out there, that finding Sarah Hawke is the priority here. She's also Trina's ancestor, so with that being said-"

"We have to find her."

"Exactly. After we do that, we can put an end to whatever the hell is fixing to happen here. However…just as we need to do it here, you're going to have to do it when you get home."

"What do you mean?" His suspicions grew as an ominous feeling began to creep up his spine. "What's going on back home?"

"Erin Lamont, the same mage who put Sarah under is from your time. She's planning an attack, possibly on the Kirkwall of your time…"

"We don't have a country with the name Kirkwall."

"Then it's possible the name has changed. It has been, what, five hundred years?"

"Yes…" This was bad, he wasn't aware of how serious of an issue they were going to have to face. Trina might be expecting only to put a stop to whatever was going on _now_. He had to let her know! "We need to tell Trina."

"We will, but first, let us work on your magic. If you're my descendent, that may mean you have some healing capabilities in you. That can prove to be a powerful asset on the field." He tapped his fingers on the side of the box, feeling the flow of magic rushing down to his hands as sparks started to erupt from his fingers. It scared him a bit, but he figured it was best. Though he didn't want this power forever, so maybe it could be controlled in the future.

"All right then…let's do it…" Anything he could do to help, to learn, he would. It was now, or never. "I'm ready."

* * *

Well, what do you think? Obviously I'm putting in some helpful bits from the journal entries in the game for you to further understand what things are.

What do you think of everything, seems Sinjin's slowly accepting his own ancestor.


	14. Ancestors' Words of Wisdom

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: A little insight on how the others are handling things this chapter, mostly because not everyone is going to be around in every single chapter.

* * *

Chapter 14 (Ancestors' Words of Wisdom)

Beck searched Fenris's mansion with a feeling of pity in his heart, there was little light in the gloomy place. His ancestor remained in the living area upstairs with a fireplace behind him. He moved to the room Fenris was in and sat down in the chair across from him. "Would you like some wine?" Fenris asked, holding up a bottle. Beck was uncertain in his answer, considering he was only eighteen, hardly of the legal limit to drink. Did it matter, though?

"I'm underage."

"Underage?" Fenris raised an eyebrow and his brow furrowed as his left hand tapped gently onto the arm of his chair. "What the hell does that even mean?" He rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. He'd forgotten he was in a different era, and there really wasn't such a thing as 'underage drinking'. Although, he still wasn't feeling like drinking any wine at the moment. If any at all. "Well regardless. I'm surprised you're not…my species."

"I don't really know what to make of this either, to be honest with you." He _was_ having a difficult time taking his eyes off the strange silver markings on Fenris's arms, or even the sharp ears that he had. These were things he thought were dreams. "They said you were a former slave?"

"I was. My own sister almost sold me out to Danarius when they found me here. Shamefully, I never actually saw her since we were children…for some reason, the dwarf and Sarah decided I should let her live."

"She was your sister? Don't know if I would have killed her." He leaned forward and clasped his hands together between his knees. A hardened expression swept over his face as he recalled Jade's anger with him over that video. The look on her face was enough to instill fear into him. He fucked up, he knew he had, and Jade seemed to be undergoing some sort of strange change in her own belief system. Where were they headed now? Trina was right about him being narcissistic, everything had to be about _him_, and he rarely thought before he acted.

His eyes flicked upwards to see Fenris staring at him. The man's white hair seemed to bounce before his sharp eyes. "What's the matter, Beck? Why do you seem so upset?"

"It's nothing, I'm just…I don't know what I'm doing here. Jade called us all to action and told us we were going to come here to help Trina." Fenris smirked and closed his eyes, muttering something about Aveline. Beck rubbed his neck and shook his head. "The thing is, Trina was right about me. I'm an ass, a vain narcissistic asshole. I didn't _mean_ to hurt her. I didn't _know_ people screwed her over before. How was I supposed to know she'd been abused? I restrained her because I didn't…I didn't really want her to call her dad while we were…" He covered his face and groaned as his head began to pound. "Jesus that was stupid of us…"

"What did you do." Fenris sipped his wine and leaned back in his recliner, staring Beck in the eyes. "Did you crush someone's heart? Were you forced to pillage a town? Sink a ship?"

"Worse, I think. I think I shattered someone's trust. I went behind one of my friends' back and humiliated her sister, who now hates all of us. I never told anyone. It wasn't even worth it either…but I may as well have crushed her heart…" He leaned up and broadened his shoulders. His lips formed a thin line and his eyebrows dipped into his eyes. "Trina was just being stupid, or maybe it was an act or something, I don't know…she told someone that I asked her out, when I didn't, and that person went on to spread some sort of rumor. I made up a scheme with Andre and Robbie…we went to her house and got into this big fight with one another, at some point of time I restrained her…don't remember why, but I did. She totally _freaked the fuck out_, but we continued…" Fenris bowed his head and moved his hand over his mouth and chin, staring out as if in deep thought. Beck ran his hand through his hair and started to chuckle, it was devoid of emotion. "She called for her dad to help. We ran behind the couch and pulled out these puppets when her dad started asking what was going on…we lied to him, rather brazenly. We left, felt no fucking remorse whatsoever…but now…" He pointed to his right temple, remembering the disheartened, upset, hurt, and angry look on Trina's face. Her cheeks had been swollen and red, her eyes were misty and her body was heaving as if she were ready to pummel him. Even days after that, every time they ran into Sinjin, _he_ looked like he wanted to kill them. "I can't get the image of her after all of that out of my head, it's _burned_ there."

"You know what you did. You not only disrespected her, a woman, but you disrespected her _father._ You disrespected her sister, her _family_."

"I _know!"_ He buried his head into his hands, feeling a terrible amount of pity coursing through him. Had he been this depressed before? Why _was_ he so upset now? Was it because he was in a place he didn't know, feeling confused and upset over his sins? Was it the gloominess of the house? He didn't know.

"So…Make things right. I see you're apparently dating Aveline's descendent? I have to say…I never thought any descendent of mine would be with one of hers. But that's nothing compared to Anders's descendent with Sebastian's and Hawke's."

"Jade found out about that whole thing that happened, Tori told her. She looked ready to dump me at that."

"Wouldn't be surprised if she did, to be honest." Beck was stunned, he couldn't _fathom_ Jade leaving him! How many times had they broken up? His heart started to crack and he felt his chest threatening to tear open. "If she's anything like Aveline, she'll be loyal, fierce, and honorable."

"Well…She's _trying_ to be that way. I think. She really wants to make things right with Trina and Tori, she's done a lot of messing up too…" Fenris rubbed his chin and dropped his hand to his knee, sighing heavily.

"I don't know what things are like in your time, Beck, but I can tell you what is expected of people in _this _time. Something I would hope would be there in the future too…we hold our women to the highest respect. Women are not confined to their homes, like the common _slave. _They are incredibly strong people. Why, even the Templar knight commander is a woman! That being said, we respect and we cherish them like a human being. Their father is the one person that preludes them, he is beyond recourse. The head of the house, he holds all power. If you disrespect his wife, his daughter, his sons, _anybody_, he reserves the right to make sure you never show your face again. Do not lie to the father, do not even attempt to _deceive _him. If Trina, Tori, and their family forgive you…then you better do your best with the second chance you're given, otherwise you won't get another."

A lump formed in his throat and sweat began to form at the top of his forehead, dripping down only to be absorbed by his thick eyebrows. "I'll try to keep that in mind…"

"One more thing." Fenris tapped his fingertips together and Beck lifted his gaze up towards his ancestor. He had a sorrowful feeling stirring inside of him and was nervously awaiting Fenris's next words. "You know Aveline told me what she popped in on you and Jade doing, and I have to say, I disapprove of it as well."

"Oh? Is it because we're not married?"

"Not necessarily. It has more to do with you pressuring her into the act in her father's house, which I am sure the man did not realize. In doing so, you disrespected and disgraced her father, as well as her family. You have to be more respectful to women, Beck, it's just common sense."

He bowed his head and tried in vain to swallow the rising guilt. He never looked at any of these situations in such a light, and surely he never meant to disrespect Trina, Jade, Tori, or their families. "I will try…Honestly, I will." A hard promise to keep, but he'd manage. He had to figure _something_ out.

In the Hanged Man Pub, Robbie and Andre sat at the table in Varric's private room. Varric and Isabela were telling them everything they could think of about the place and its people. "Lowtown is an interesting place," Isabela nodded, "Just don't go walking around at night. There are definitely people out there that will try and rob you blind."

"They do that in the day too," Varric corrected. Andre and Robbie bowed their heads. Nothing was really getting understood by them. Andre came in after Tori, he and Robbie both _did_ want to try and become friends with Trina in the end but neither thought it would happen. Especially not after all the shit they put her through. Andre had wanted to ask Tori out, but was starting to feel it wouldn't happen.

Both of the men were a little distracted by their thoughts, which made listening to their ancestors a living hell. Andre was impressed that his ancestor was such a powerful pirate _captain_. He was inspired by her, and already she'd begun showing him tricks with her daggers. Though, the bartender didn't want them practicing in the bar. Varric had been going over his bow with Robbie, seeing as how Robbie didn't want to mess around with daggers and swords.

"So the bow…" Robbie pointed to 'Bianca' and Varric glanced down at his bow. "I shoot from a distance?"

"Yeah, I'm going to start teaching you target practice tomorrow morning." They all agreed to stay in for the night, considering the apparent risks that they had to deal with outside. Neither Varric or Isabela wanted them attempting to fight the thugs yet. "You're going to need a lot of sharpshooting skills when you get out in the field. However, if Trina is anything like Sarah, she may use you _less_ often. Usually Isabela here travels with her, same with Merrill. She often takes either Aveline or Fenris with her, depending on how she's feeling. Sebastian and I stay back unless she actually needs us for something."

"I doubt Trina would have need for us," Andre joked. He looked over to Robbie and smirked as the boy shook his head. "We kind of screwed things up with her. I'm _pretty sure_ she hates us. Sinjin's the only one she'd deal with."

Isabela folded her forearms over on the table and leaned forward, staring directly into Andre's eyes. "Well she's going to have to work with each of you at some point of time. All of you need to be in the field gaining some experience in battle. Only because we have no idea what's going to happen and eventually your expertise will be needed."

"That's just it, I have a feeling Trina will do everything in her power to avoid us. If she doesn't, then Sinjin will definitely have some pull in keeping us at bay."

"You're going to have to stop thinking that way," Varric lifted his bow and started rubbing the side of it with a rag. He narrowed his eyes and glanced idly towards them. "Get in your head that you're a team. If you didn't think you were going to work well with her or her sister, then you shouldn't be here. What the hell are you trying to prove?"

"Repentance," Robbie confessed. "I don't know, it's just we want to show both Tori and Trina that we're not full of shit. We want to keep Tori's friendship and we also want Trina to realize that we're not all full of crap." Andre nodded as Isabela and Varric glanced at one another. Isabela's lip turned into a smirk and her eyes peered at them from the corners of her eyelids.

"I'm guessing you did something to make her realize your friendship was full of shit? Perhaps a typical guy move?"

"If you want to look at it that way. We've all been a bit cruel to her. So I think maybe we just…need to change?"

"Probably work on whatever it is you're dealing with. There are times we may not be able to be around, so you may have to travel with the sisters. If that's the case, then that means quite simply: You're going to have to put aside your differences. _Regardless_ of how bad things are. Of course if we haven't made it clear enough…" Isabela turned to them and leaned forward, her cold eyes burned into them like a dangerous fire. "Maybe you're not friendly with the sisters, that's okay. Maybe you wouldn't help them…but _we_ are relying on _you_ lot to help _our friend_. Sarah's in danger, we need to rescue her, and the only way to do that is with Tori and Trina. So you guys are here to give strength in numbers. Push aside your differences. It's the least you can do."

She had a point, neither of them could argue with her. At the same time, the shiver of fear caused them to not bother with disagreeing. The woman didn't seem like she'd take kindly to that type of negative reaction in the first place.

Merrill's home was lit up with candlelight, creating a warm feeling for Cat. She was amazed to find some enjoyment over this time period, despite the lack of working technology.

Currently Cat was busy practicing spells that Merrill was teaching her, she nearly froze her ancestor on accident and then set fire to Merrill's hair. "Let's take a break, shall we?" Merrill suggested upon putting out a fire on her bed.

"Sorry…"

"It's okay." Merrill reminded her a little of her nana, but that shouldn't really be a surprise. She was just starting to get used to the whole ancestor to descendent thing. While they were coming home, they saw a handsome looking merchant that Merrill stopped to talk to. The merchant looked remarkably like her grandfather, so much so that she just _had_ to comment on the resemblance, embarrassing Merrill at the time.

"I still think that merchant looked like my grandpa."

"Well I wouldn't know. Though he _is_ rather handsome." Merrill rubbed her chin and walked over to the makeshift bed on the other side of the bedroom. This was to be where Cat would stay for a while. "Anyway, you seem to be making headway with the magic, that's good. How do you know Sarah's descendents?"

"Oh I met them a couple years ago." She sat down on the bed, watching Merrill fluff the pillow for her. After she was done, Merrill moved to her bed and laid down on her side. Cat mimicked her and gazed at her ancestor. "They're great people! I don't know why, but Tori's sister really doesn't like us. I mean I know why but I don't get why because I think my friends should treat her nice."

"It's hard being the outcast, and I should know. My clan cast me aside and Sarah took me in. At first, it was hard for me to be accepted, but they accepted me."

"That's actually how it was like for me, not for like, Trina. Everyone just started treating her badly. I think Jade wanted to work on it." She didn't want to talk about Tori and Trina, she wanted to talk about this place. It was so amazing that she wanted to explore! However, she wasn't able to do so. "Why couldn't I go and explore?"

"Because, I don't think you're ready to be out here at night. It's dangerous, there are bandits that prowl the streets at night. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Oh…I guess that makes sense. I like it here though, it's warm…"

"I'm glad. You know we have a big day tomorrow. We have a lot of training to do, none of us want to send you guys out to look for Sarah without knowing that you can fight. We'll have to stay at your side."

"I see…" Everyone was to have different posts as well. She and Merrill were going to go to Sundermount, where Merrill_ used_ to live. It was a mountainous location just outside Kirkwall, large and open, simply perfect for practicing magic. She didn't know where the others would be stationed though. "Who all goes where?"

"I think Aveline said it would be a good idea for her guardsmen to help Tori and Trina. Trina gets to work with Aveline and the guards while Tori's going to go with Anders. She doesn't really want him working with Sinjin only."

"Oh? Doesn't Aveline trust him?"

"To a degree, but he still has been acting suspicious lately. Fenris said he's going to try and take Beck out to the Wounded Coast. There they'll do some practicing with the sword. I'm not sure what Varric plans to do with Robbie, I think he and Sebastian will do some work together. Isabela says she's taking Andre out to the Docks. Aveline's going to try and see what Trina wants to do weapon-wise. Sarah fought with knives, but Trina seems built for a sword if she wants to go that route."

"Yeah we'll see. I hope everyone is going to be okay. I really do want to find their ancestor."

Merrill turned onto her back and moved her hands behind her head, sighing as she gazed up at the ceiling. "Sarah is my best friend, they're all practically my only friends." Cat slowly nodded and glanced down at the floor. It seemed they had a lot to learn from their ancestors, maybe they'd be able to pick up on it all. "We all have our reasons, but we rally behind her because she cared for each and every one of us when we needed her. Now she needs our help…"

"She'll be okay Nana Merrill. I promise…I have a good feeling."

"I hope you're right, Cat. I really do."

* * *

What are your thoughts on each of the talks with the ancestors? Fenris had a few heavy hitters, that's for sure. Merrill and Cat at least had a calm moment. Tell me your thoughts, do you think there's any chance for Tori's friends to actually make a comeback? At least the guys have a difficult time ahead of them.


	15. Ambushed

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 15 (Ambushed)

_"How much would money from the future be translated into, I wonder?" _Trina eyed a merchant shop in the middle of Hightown, curious as to whether or not she should consider buying weapons. She had no money that would have been worth _anything_ here, so it was a bit of an issue for her. The merchants were waving at her as though they were familiar with her, it was only a slight bit uncomfortable for her, but she had to figure it would be this way considering her wardrobe.

Her ancestor had been wearing Plate Armor at the time, she was wearing a different armored suit that her ancestor had stashed away. This was what Aveline had called _Champion Armor_, made specifically for Sarah Hawke. It felt weird trudging around with heavy armor plates, greaves, boots. The helmet, she left back home since she wasn't doing any major fighting. As for the reason she was wearing such thick armor, she just wanted to get the feel for wearing this stuff.

Not only was it _heavy_, but at first she had a hell of a time walking without falling to the ground. How Sarah got around in this, she didn't know. "Champion!" Her ears perked up and she closed her eyes, listening to the woman calling out behind her. At first she wasn't aware she was calling for her, but there really wasn't anyone else around other than the merchants. "Champion please!"

_"Oh shit…what do I do? I just wanted to get a feel for the place." _ Hightown looked like any typical castle town with high grey walls and stone walkways. She turned to the woman and mustered the best smile she could as this woman in green cloth came rushing up to her.

"Champion, someone needs your help! At the chantry courtyard, a child's climbed up into a tree and is scared to get down!" She raised an eyebrow at the woman, resisting the urge to scoff at the cry for help. Was Sarah _really_ reduced to helping children and pets out of trees on her time off?

Now. Which way was the chantry?

She moved her arm up, letting out a slight grunt as her arms worked with the weight. How much was on her? Sixty pounds, maybe? "Lead the way…"

"Oh thank you. Please, hurry!" The woman started running off to the right and Trina quickly followed, glancing over her shoulder. She would have run off to the left, thinking the Chantry would be that way. She looked back to the woman and lifted her eyes skyward, realizing the Chantry was where Sebastian was staying. Why not ask _him_ for help?

Upon further investigation, the woman's clothing consisted of a long green robe with light green gloves. She felt something tighten inside of her, urging her to stop running. The best she had were two cheap ass knives, basic daggers that looked more plastic than sharp. There had to be a reason Sarah kept them stashed away in a storage chest. They were useless. They were the only thing she could find to work with, however.

When they arrived in the Chantry courtyard, she could see no tree with a child nearby. Concerned that she'd been fooled, she stopped running and started to step back, thinking it might be a good idea to flee now while she still had a chance. The woman turned to face her, a new expression on her once frenzied face. There was now present a clear, venomous anger. Tense lines appeared on the woman's nose as her eyebrows created a wrinkle and her eyes narrowed down.

"Champion Hawke…You made the wrong move in siding with Meredith back at the Gallows. You should know she is just going to destroy us."

_"Oh shit…it's a fucking ambush!"_ Great, her first day, and she gets ambushed with little to nothing as far as weaponry goes. To top it off, by a possible mage. This possibility was confirmed when the woman reached into her robe and removed a silver staff. Sweat dripped from the side of her head, her heart began to race. More mages started walking from the shadows, further instilling fear into her. _"Shit! Shit, shit, shit! This is what Aveline meant by never walking alone. You don't expect an ambush in daylight, do you?!"_

"Have you nothing to say for yourself, _Champion?" _She lifted a finger, her eyes darted around the area. Her body began to despair and her heart quickly sank down.

"Um…yeah-I…You'd attack me in broad daylight? Really?" There were about five mages surrounding her, each wielding a staff. The woman had blood magic swirling around her body, her lips were stretched into a wide, toothy grin. "Come on guys, this is my day off!" On the other hand, she _could_ tell them she wasn't the Champion. It wasn't a full out lie, but it might not be helpful to admit to anyone that Sarah was in danger herself. "I'm really not in a mood to fight either…"'

"Do you think we _care?_ Kill the Champion!" She rolled her eyes and quickly withdrew her blades, throwing them in front of her face as one mage swung their staff down onto her. She deflected the staff, but was pushed back some by it. The weight of the armor started pulling her back and she quickly had to regain her balance before toppling onto her face. She let out a scream as she did this, finally catching her balance after turning into a full circle. The mages gawked at her and the woman raised an eyebrow. "Are you drunk or something?"

"No, no, it's just…new armor. You know how that goes." She chuckled nervously and closed her eyes, trying to calm down. She was going to have to find a way to ignore the weight of the armor, or at the very least, use it to her advantage. Not to mention, using her martial arts skills as well.

Fighting, Martial arts, it was very movement oriented. It would be necessary to keep a forward movement, and with heavy armor, that would make forward movement even heavier against whatever she was coming up against. It wasn't like she was wearing warrior armor either, she was wearing armor that still enabled her to do certain things she had learned to do in the past, such as performing backflips, or even cart-wheels.

With a subtle smirk, she straightened herself and bounced the daggers in the air. "All right. You want a fight, I'll give you a fight."

"It's strange, something's different about her," One of the mages commented on her appearance, which startled her. She still knew better than to let on that she wasn't Sarah, but it did make her wonder how long it would last. "It could be that she's alone and not with her companions."

"Allies? Yeah…" Well, Sinjin wasn't in Hightown right now, and Tori was still sleeping when she left the estate. As for the rest? Well, she could have gone to Fenris and asked for him to show her around, but then she would have to be in the presence of Beck, and he was one of the last people she needed to deal with. "I guess they're all just busy right now."

"Either way, she's fighting alone, it is our opportunity." The mages charged her once more. Thinking fast, she dodged their attack, moving with her armor and keeping her balance with ease. She countered by swinging her right blade down against the woman's back, but it barely cut into her.

She gasped as the woman twisted around, peering at her slit robe. The woman cracked out a laugh and Trina's confidence fell remarkably. _ "Serves me right…choosing shitty blades."_

"What was that? The Champion has lost her touch!" The mages laughed, further damaging her morale. She shrank back, feeling a lump form in her throat. She started to shout back, but no amount of anger would keep these mages from attacking her.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over them, followed by an arrow that struck the woman in the right shoulder. Trina yelped and looked back to see Sebastian standing on top of a nearby set of steps, his eyes narrow and arms pulling back strongly on his bow. "Step away from my child," he muttered. He released another arrow, snapping it into the woman's forehead. Trina's eyes widened and the mages instantly turned to him.

A rallying cry rang out in the air, startling her and the mages. When she turned, she saw Aveline and Jade, both in Guard Armor, running with Aveline's husband Donnic and the other Guardsman, Brennan. The mages were overcome as swords flew through the air, slashing them. The three women, and Guardsman Donnic forced them into retreat while Sebastian continued shooting arrow after arrow at the mages.

The first thought on her mind was how close she'd come to being killed on her first day here, then she felt a string of envy over the fact that _Jade_ was fighting remarkably well with her own sword and shield.

After the mages were gone, the others turned to her, all a bit a miffed in their expressions. "Are you all right?" Sebastian asked. She pulled her hair back over her shoulders and slowly nodded, glancing over to Jade.

"How on earth is Jade…"

"Oh," Jade motioned to Donnic and Aveline, "My great-grandma and great-grandpa. Aveline put me on Donnic's route last night to give me a taste of the guards. He and Brennan-" Brennan was the short haired brunette standing at ease beside Aveline, "-Showed me how gave me some great tips. We even fought off a couple groups of thugs last night."

"I see…"

Aveline cleared her throat and stepped forward, folding her arms over her chest. "Did I not explicitly say no one is to travel _alone?_ Fenris is right next door. I know you have some grievances with Beck, Jade, and the others, but you are going to have to find a way to put those aside or _someone_ is going to be seriously injured! If I hadn't decided to venture into Hightown at this hour, then look what could have happened! You've got teams, you need to use them, despite whatever upsets you may have with them."

"I just wanted to check out the shops and find out what this place was like, Tori wasn't even awake yet. I suppose I should have waited. Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." Aveline rubbed her forehead and sighed deeply. "It's just, to state the obvious, people are going to be after Sarah's head. No matter what, someone's going to be after her, whether she had sided with Mages or Templars. No one knows that she's not even here anymore, that she's hidden away somewhere, and right now…you bear a strong resemblance to your ancestor. They see you walking around, especially in her armor, they might attack you. That is _why_ you have your allies with you."

"Power in numbers," Donnic added, "It is better to have more people with you in a fight than to go at it alone. Especially if you are not prepared." He pointed to her daggers and she grimaced. "Those are nothing fancy."

"Nothing fancy at all." Aveline shuddered as she took the daggers from Trina's hands. "Sarah got rid of these as quickly as she could, literally the minute she entered Kirwall, she was looking for better weapons." Trina was embarrassed to the point that she wanted to crawl under a rock. She hadn't listened to Aveline's prior advice and did something so foolish that it literally cost her a life. "I don't mean to come down too hard on you, but you have to understand…you're not equipped or prepared yet, you have a lot to learn before you can just start fighting."

"I know that, I'm sorry…I guess I didn't think about it."

"It's fine. Let's get you back to the estate, I'm sure there's a lot to discuss. The others are probably out training right now and I'm sure your sister's wondering where you're at. The last thing we want is _her_ roaming around by herself."

Her eyes widened and she quickly moved her hand over her mouth, having forgotten about what they'd studied. "Oh god, we read about the Circle last night. We have to make sure she hasn't left!" She immediately started to run off, thanking Aveline for her help, as well as Donnic, Brennan, and Sebastian. Jade simply shrugged off the fact that she didn't acknowledge her, and followed after them.

When they returned to the Estate, Tori was indeed still at the house with the baby. She looked up to the group with a bright smile, "Oh there you are Trina. I was wondering where you took off to."

"Well everything's fine now," Jade leaned against a wall leaning her head back against it and gazing at the wooden stairwell. "Have to stick together though, no one splitting up anymore."

"Sounds good to me."

"We're heading to Darktown soon," Aveline replied. Trina's heart skipped a beat and her lips turned up into a tiny smile. Sinjin had truly been on her mind all night, leaving her unable to sleep without being able to know if he was okay with Anders. Now she could see how he was faring with his first night! "We're going to drop you off with Anders and Sinjin, then all of us will be heading back to the Barracks. I will be organizing a patrol so Trina, you can train. My men will provide you with some more appropriate weapons."

She had no arguments and was ready to go into battle. This was something she was longing for, to get started and to be able to hurry the hell up and get her ancestor home safe. "Aveline, if I can suggest one thing though. Should we at least let Sarah's Uncle Gamlen know what's going on?" Aveline's face softened and her arms lowered to her sides.

"I suppose it is necessary. However, I'm not sure how he would take that news. He may be an incorrigible prick, but he does still love his niece dearly. Sarah and Bethany lost their brother, Carver already as well as their father, and their mother was murdered a few years ago. With Bethany being dragged off to the Circle, I am not sure how he'd take the news that he may be losing Sarah as well."

"We still have to be there for him. I mean…" She moved her hands to her chest, chuckling nervously as she tried to use herself as a point. "I'd think that I, and Tori would be enough to show him things would be all right. We're his descendents. Not that anyone in this day and age would believe it…"

"Actually you'd be surprised what people would believe, with magic such a frequent issue."

"I suppose so, but we still can't leave him out…he needs to know we're doing something to get her back."

"She's right," Jade responded. Trina scrunched her nose and slanted her eyes at the girl, still suspicious of her intentions. "We can't leave him out of the know, not when it comes to his family. I mean…what if something happens? What if we _can't _make it in time? Are we going to just tell him then and then have him asking why no one tried to do anything to help her?" Jade, surprisingly, had a very strong point. Trina was speechless. "It would be better he know something is up and people are trying to do something for her, than for him to know nothing and think nobody even bothered to save the one last relative he knew about."

Aveline rubbed her chin and began to pace, nodding her head. "Okay, I see your point." She stopped her pacing and stood straight, clearing her throat. "Then our first stop will be to head to Lowtown, it is not far. We'll inform Gamlen what's going on, and let him know that there is still some hope. After that, we're off to Darktown. That's the plan…Everyone, _stay together_. No exceptions…"

* * *

A close call on Trina's part, it is a good thing the others showed up when they did. Well what are you thinking? Your opinions are more than welcome


	16. Notifications and Trade

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 16 (Notifications and Trade)

Lowtown was a strange place with dirty streets and yellow stone buildings. Tori and _Jade_ were walking up next to her for some reason, she would have preferred Jade stay back with Aveline. Aveline, Donnic, and Brennan were a few feet behind them to watch over them and hopefully avoid attracting too much attention. Sebastian was about to come with his granddaughters when the Chantry's Grand Cleric Elthina came asking him for something. The grey haired woman was somewhat intimidating.

As they trudged through the dusty streets, people occasionally acknowledged her as her ancestor. It was more of a sadness that she responded with inside, rather than any sort of pride or joy in knowing her ancestor _was_ a real live hero.

She put it out of her mind and recalled her studies from the prior night over what she read of Lowtown. The city was in a massive cauldron-shaped pit that used to be a quarry. The district was constructed by slaves who carved the city and its harbor out of rock.

Now, it remains a labyrinth of corridors and hexagonal courtyards with a few shops strewn here and there. The poorest live in Lowtown typically in caves that are built from the face of the cliff. Lowtown was poorly built and holds scars caused by collapsing walls. The Foundry district of Lowtown bore a thick smoke that covered the area. The musty air was only cleared out by cold winter storms, hardly a relief, Trina would think.

The walls of Lowtown were highest by harbor, and the busiest streets lead up to Hightown, home to Kirkwall's wealthiest. On the other end of Lowtown sat the Docks, and within Lowtown was the Alienage where elves lived, including Merrill. It was also home to the Hanged Man Pub, where Isabela and Varric hung out.

"I guess everyone would be out training by now?" Tori quickened her pace to keep up with Trina. The issue was, Trina wanted to walk fast in order to get used to the armor, not to keep away from anyone in particular. "Maybe I could practice while we walk?" Jade shook her head and the girls eyed her.

"It's a bad idea. Aveline and Donnic say Templars are almost always watching. If they see someone performing magic without trouble, they may rush in and take them to the Circle." Tori flinched and Trina sneered at the thought.

"Over my dead body. No one touches my sister." Tori smiled at her and Jade nodded firmly. They walked into a courtyard with about four houses on top of stairways. She looked over her shoulder for answers from Aveline. Aveline pointed to the house on the right, so she immediately turned and climbed up the steps. "So do we knock first, or…"

"Well Sarah usually just walks in," Aveline joked, "You might want to knock, or you can just enter. Gamlen doesn't usually care either way."

"Well considering everyone thinks I'm Sarah, I guess I shouldn't deviate from the illusion." She knocked first, then pushed open the door. Gamlen was adjusting some portrait on his wall. The older man had grey hair, mild stubble, and a lanky figure. He looked over with piercing sharp eyes that held a strange sadness to them. "Hey Uncle Gamlen, how's it going?"

"Who are you?" The others silenced as he turned around and crossed his arms. She was stunned! Did he seriously not think she was Sarah? How did he see through it when everyone else didn't? "Walking into my house, calling me your Uncle…You aren't my niece, I know my niece. Why are you trying to pretend you're her?" His eyes drifted to Aveline and he cleared his throat. "Aveline. What's going on here?"

"There's been a problem, I'm afraid." Aveline leaned against a nearby wall and Trina crossed her arms. "However this is Sarah's descendent, from another time. We had to find her…"

"I didn't mean to deceive you." Gamlen looked over to Trina with a growing fear in his eyes. She felt a rush of turmoil over what she was about to have to say, this was just a sad looking old man who'd lost his family. She bowed her head and scratched her forehead in thought. "What I'm about to say…Something has happened to Sarah."

"What? Is she okay?" His eyes widened and his hands fell to his sides. "What happened to her? She's alive, right? Tell me she's alive!" Remembering the stories of what happened to Leandra, Sarah's mother and his sister, she wanted to be careful to say a blood mage took Sarah. She didn't want him to start thinking another blood mage serial killer was after his family, even though that _was_ kind of the truth. "Do you even know where she is?"

"We're doing everything we can to find her, to save her, and we _will_. You see, someone took her, someone from our time. I know it doesn't sound like something you'd believe, time travel, but that's the way it is. Sarah's been taken to someone whose identity we don't know yet, nor do we know the location of."

He cupped his hand over his mouth and stared down at the floor, his body began to tremble and his eyelids snapped shut. "Well then do what you can to find her! What are you waiting for?" Perhaps it wasn't a comfort knowing he had descendents, but at the same time, she could understand how he would be grieving over the loss.

"I'm sorry Gamlen. We're doing everything we can."

"Clearly not if you're here and Sarah's trapped somewhere out there where she could be dying! God knows what her captors want with her!" Trina and Tori exchanged mournful glances, and Jade stepped forward. Jade stood straight, positioning herself as Aveline taught her to stand at attention. Gamlen looked into her eyes, his mouth opened and short, shuddering breaths escaped him.

"We will do everything in our power to find your niece and get her back," Jade closed her hands, "As long as the captors have her, they have leverage. They will not do anything to her. We will find her alive and we will bring her back safe." It was saying a lot to promise this man that they could find Sarah, but that was the best they could do, and the least they could do. Trina wanted him to feel some amount of hope, rather than think there was no hope and fear he lost his family forever. "Until then, it is to your benefit that you know Sarah does have a child…"

"I already know that. How is little Rachel?"

"Safe," Trina answered. Gamlen lit up for the first time, his lips bounced up into a small smile. "She's at the estate, being watched over by the workers there."

"I'm glad. C-Could I go see her?"

Trina gave him a smile, reassuring him, "Anytime you like."

"Thank you. Please…bring Sarah back home safe, and…stop trying to pretend you are her. It's better for everyone's health."

"I would if I could." She wanted say, 'tell that to the bad guys', but didn't think it would get them anywhere in this conversation. As long as people thought she was Sarah, she had to _be_ Sarah. "I'll try to do it less though, Gamlen. Can you think of anything that might possibly help us in finding her?"

"I don't know, I assume she has enemies."

"Yes, we know one of enemies is the one that has done this. Do you think either Meredith or Orsino would have reason _at this point_ to try and silence her?" Gamlen's eyebrows shot up and his lips parted momentarily.

"Are you suggesting the First Enchanter or the Knight Commander of the Templars had something to do with this?"

"No! Not yet." She waved her hands before she started a rumor that Kirkwall's elite were behind Sarah's attack. "I'm just wondering how things are with them right now."

"It could be much worse than it is right now, tensions are high and Sarah was trying to ease the tensions. Since she seemed to be on Meredith's side, I don't see why Meredith would attack her at this point if she was…Orsino? He's in the same boat, neither have shown signs of contempt towards her…Just arguing like a stupid married couple."

"Got to love bitter irony…"

"I suggest if you think they might know something, you ask them. Before everything gets out of hand and you can't get information from them."

"We'll give it some thought." It wasn't a bad point, but it still didn't sound like a good idea right now. She honestly didn't want the inevitable to occur prematurely because Sarah wasn't around. If Meredith knew about Sarah's abduction, she'd accuse mages and attempt to purge them early on. If Orsino knew something, he'd attempt to cover it up and say ignore it or else Meredith might try to accuse the mages in the Circle of something and have more fuel against him.

Both of them would want to keep under wraps any sort of affair of theirs as well. This was to be no easy task.

After assuring him again they'd find Sarah, they left. "That went better than I thought, though I'm still surprised he saw right through the whole 'I'm Sarah' thing."

"He's family," Aveline shrugged, "He knows Sarah well enough to know when someone is lying to him about her. So it makes sense he could tell you weren't her. You don't exactly have her posture down, for one thing…also, you have a slightly lighter skinned complexion."

"I do?" She lifted her arm, gazing at it under the sun. Her ancestor _did_ spend her days in the sun, so it made some since she'd be tanner. "Eh, I'll probably get a tan soon enough. I tan easily, just ask Sinjin…"

Jade rolled her eyes and pat her hands together, "So it's bugging me. Are the two of you an item or what?" Trina raised an eyebrow and turned to her, struggling to open up about her nonexistent love life to this girl. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, I understand. I just…I'm curious."

"It's hard to say. I mean…I'd _like_ it, I guess, but…" She shrugged her shoulders and picked up her pace a bit. Did she love him? Yes. Did she want to be with him? Without a doubt. "I guess I'm just scared. I don't know. Me, and relationships don't usually mix well."

"Trina, he wouldn't hurt you," Tori remarked. "I think we both know that. I didn't even know you two were so close until, like, recently…but he seems like he wouldn't hurt you."

"He wouldn't. I just don't want to screw up or do something wrong. But anyway, let's focus on the more important task at hand here…"

Upon arriving at Anders's Clinic, Trina found Sinjin sitting on a crate. Before he could even stand, she ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. The others watched with subtle smirks and knowing gazes. Sinjin hugged her back and smiled into her eyes.

"How are you guys holding up?" He asked.

"We're good. We stopped by Sarah's Uncle to let him know what's going on, he deserves to know. Also, to have hope. That being said, we've promised now to bring her back safe, so we absolutely can't fail."

"I think we can do this. You'll be great."

"Yeah…I'm going back to the Barracks with Aveline, and um…Jade…" Sinjin looked up and Trina dropped her forehead onto his chest just beneath his chin. She couldn't distinguish exactly how she felt about it, but it wasn't as though she had much choice. Her head lifted back up and her shoulders rose and fell. "Tori's sticking around here to learn from Anders."

"Right. If you need anything, well…" Sinjin looked around the clinic, his lips forming a scowl. "Damn it, there's no way to get in touch with each other…"

"It's all right, I'm sure Aveline's got everything thought out." She hugged him closer, curling her fingers into his hair on the back of his head. He held on to her, tightening his hug. After a few seconds, they broke apart and Trina looked back to Aveline and Jade. Despair was like a knife to the gut, and it was cutting deep into her as she thought of trading Sinjin and Tori for Jade, of all people. She let out a breathless sigh and shook her head. "All right. I got this…stay safe, Sinjin. Try not to kill your ancestor, okay?"

"Oh I'm sure I won't." He crossed his arms and smirked at her, wagging his eyebrows. "Don't kill Jade."

"I'll _try_ not to." She spun around to him and smirked back, her lips tightened and she tilted her head somewhat. "I promise nothing. If she pisses me off, may Aveline hold me back. She _did_ manage to help me out, so I am grateful for that at least."

"Okay, good luck Trina," He laughed. His laugh was a comfort to her, softening the tension inside. She waved and moved beside Aveline, while Tori moved over to Anders and Sinjin.

This was it, no turning back now.

* * *

You might look Gamlen up on Youtube and so forth, but I think you got an idea about him. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter


	17. On Patrol

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 17 (On Patrol)

Her muscles were sore to the point that ever step she took, Trina feared falling flat on her face. They trained for hours, and now Aveline had her on patrol with Jade and Donnic through the Docks." Her cell phone said it was around seven in the evening. This day was officially the longest day she ever spent consecutively training and studying without breaks. Somehow, Jade was able to walk with her ancestor without collapsing, but there_ was_ an evident strain on Jade's face.

"Some days you'll go all day fighting," Donnic looked over his shoulder to the girls. His tightlipped expression spoke volumes, concerning Trina to the number of criminals that prowled the streets. The Guard was just what modern day police departments were, they even had the same level of treatment and respect by civilians here as they did in her time. That was, treat them like nothing until you actually need them for something. "You may be sore as hell, but you keep going until you can go no more. That's our policy here."

"I guess I can understand that." She rubbed the back of her neck, sighing heavily as her elbow brushed the handle of her dagger. She now had two long daggers that heavily resembled fangs and were sharp as hell with spiked balls at the tip of the handles. Aveline said they were similar to the ones her ancestor had, so she felt a bit of pride at that. "I'm not sure how much more I can go, really."

"You'll know. When you can no longer push yourself, that's when you need to stop for a while." She nodded and looked to her left where an area was closed off by a large iron cast gate. Donnic and Jade followed her gaze and stopped walking. "That was the Qunari compound. Several years ago, they were a group of people who remained in Kirkwall while searching for some 'relic'. They disliked us. Your ancestor held a diplomatic relationship with their leader, known as the Arishok. She won his respect, and when the time came, the Qunari waged a war. They rampaged this place. Isabela had stolen the relic they were searching for, as well."

As he was explaining, Trina could feel a heavy energy coming from the gates. It was a frightening and vile aura, she desired to tear away. "What happened?"

"They killed the Viscount, which is one reason Meredith and Orsino are butting heads _now_. Both would see themselves rise up to claim Kirkwall. Aveline tells me Sebastian would like for Sarah to rise up, but she does not wish to. This town is far too covered in muck for that, anyway…" They continued walking, with Trina pushing down the overwhelming fear she received from that compound. "Isabela returned with the relic in just the right time, the Arishok wanted to take her with them when they were going to leave, Sarah and Aveline would not allow it. Having won the respect of the Arishok, he challenged Sarah to a one on one duel, if she won, Isabela would remain here and the Qunari would leave."

"Obviously she won…"

"Correct." Pride surged through her and her lips turned into a fierce grin. This was more detailed than the stories her father used to tell, it was great to hear more description on those old 'children tales'. "She won the respect of the people of Kirkwall, the respect of Meredith and Orsino. Both go to her for answers quite often in hopes she'll either side with one of them or help quell the fighting."

"She's pretty revered then?" Jade asked, smiling at her grandfather. Trina found herself getting caught up in a daydream, imaging her own ancestor standing in the middle of a room, eyeing her opponent in preparation for a fierce battle. There was a bit of envy towards the others, having their ancestors so close now, and she was unable to physically see or talk with her own. There was also a very minimal envy towards Jade, her ancestor being the near equivalent of what her own father was. "Hey Trina, what do you think of your ancestor so far? Quite the hero, right?"

She raised an eyebrow at Jade, shrugging her shoulders in acknowledgment. "Yeah…" What was she supposed to say? She trusted Jade almost as much as she trusted a rattlesnake not to bite. That being said, the _last _thing she wanted to do was talk to her. "Donnic, I thought you usually were on patrol in Lowtown."

"I am usually, but on occasion I'll be in the Docks. Aveline wants you to be well versed in the towns, both within the walls of the city and outside of Kirkwall."

"Understandable." There wasn't much she didn't understand, her brain was about ready to explode from all the reading and reciting they'd done throughout the day. She would welcome any criminals to fight at this point, just to try and pick up on anything that didn't require studying the history of some town or an ancient art of swordmastery. _"Okay, what do I remember? We went over Sundermount, where Merrill and Cat are probably training."_ Sundermount was a mountain with a giant reputation, legend had it that it was where the final battle between the Tevinter Imperium of old and ancient elves. Both sides unleashed several horrifying creatures, demons that roamed the mountain even today. Sundermount was now home to the Dalish elves, whom Trina was told were highly racist to humans.

It was mind-boggling, however, trying to figure out why all these creatures and races were here when they didn't exist in their time. Sure, it made sense that in five hundred years time Elves could have been out-bred, explaining why Cat and Beck were normal looking humans without long pointy ears. However the other things were concerning, such as Ogres or even the mythical fade demons, which she had yet to see. Also, the thought of live skeletons being conjured up out of the ground was disturbing at best. How would one explain the lack of their existence?

"You know, centuries from now, a lot of things aren't even going to exist."

Donnic raised an eyebrow and turned up a smile, "A world without demons, dark magic, and the living dead? It seems too good to be true. I would love to see that world." It was a time that she was missing already, having had enough of this old time stuff. She expected action, and here she was spending more time studying. Understandably important, but either way, she was sick to death of studying.

_"If I don't see some action soon, I think I'm going to go mad."_ At the same time, it was likely a good thing they weren't seeing any fighting right now. That meant the criminals were not prowling the streets.

When she saw, in the corner of her eyes, a group of thugs fighting one another, she let out a groan. _"Spoke too soon, they are out tonight."_ Donnic signaled her and Jade to follow, and walked up to the group. It was a small group of about eight people, all short and with chainmail helmets, they seemed a bit out of place.

"What is going on here?" Donnic spoke with a deep distinction, his voice commanded attention. The people turned to him, all startled to see the guard. Jade put her hand to the sword given to her and reached for the shield attached to the back of her armor. The men wasted no time springing to action, their leader ordering everyone to kill them.

With that, Donnic and Jade sprang to action, drawing their swords and slashing at the thugs. Trina drew her two blades and twisted around to swing at one of the thugs coming up behind her. Much to her pleasure, the blade actually cut, unlike the blades from when she was ambushed in Hightown. The thug jumped back, glaring at her as he put his hand over the deep wound in his side.

She didn't like the feeling of having to deal with this, to strike down another human and to take a life was something she never foresaw herself having to do. It was necessary, sure, especially when they were criminals, but it still didn't sit well with her. "It looks like the champion," the man growled, "The champion is with them."

"If that's what you want to believe, then believe it," she breathed out and jumped forward, slashing at the criminal. She managed to ignore the burning pain in her body and went on with the fight, somewhat miraculously. The man dodged her and swung his own blade down against her, striking the back of her armor and knocking her forward. She spun around, twirling her blades in her hands and narrowing her eyes. "Nice try…"

The man howled out and started to lunge forward, screaming to the thugs, "Kill the cham-" Just then, he froze, a blood drenched blade had gone directly through his chest. Her eyes widened and she looked up, seeing Jade standing behind the man.

"One down," Jade muttered, "Come on Trina…"

"Well excuse me for not having had a full night and day of extensive and straight combat training, Jade." Jade frowned and lowered her sword. "Thank you, though. I appreciate it." Just then, Trina caught a guard coming up behind Jade with a knife towards her head. In a swift move, Trina bolted forward past Jade and swung her left hand dagger out, digging her blade into the back of the assailant's neck. Jade spun around, gazing in surpise as the man collapsed. "Watch yourself too, Jade. I don't think Tori wants me to let you die, so pay attention."

"Come on, I just-"

"There's more coming!" Donnic shouted. The trio grouped together as several thugs started dropping from rooftops. Trina heard arrows shooting through the air near her and glanced over her shoulder, seeing two archers nearby. She bolted towards them, swinging her arms outwards and pointing the two daggers forward.

The archers screamed out and turned, all too late. Her blades dug into their spines. She tore the knives out of them and let them fall to the ground. She was getting better, but really wanted to rest. She wanted this patrol to end, so she could go back to the estate and get some _sleep.__"I wonder how the others are faring in their training…" _She hoped they were all doing well, but was more concerned with her sister and Sinjin.

The battle was over almost as quickly as it had begun. They rounded off their patrol and started heading back to the Barracks. Jade walked alongside Trina, seemingly eyeing her. Trina wanted to ask what she needed, but she didn't think it was anything important.

"I'm really trying here, Trina. Honestly…"

"Save it...Nothing's going to change immediately. That being said, I'm not exactly sure why you followed us here, it's dangerous, almost reckless."

"We're here because we want to try and get to know you better. To talk to you, maybe even start a friendship…also, none of us knew what we were getting into."

"That would be the reckless part." She folded her arms over, giving Jade a disapproving look. "As for starting a friendship, it's really not going to be easy for anyone, and you're the one that did the most damage over the years. Ask Sinjin, I don't open myself up to anyone." Jade appeared hurt, but appeared to shrug it off. "The sooner we find my ancestor, the sooner we can get home, the better. I'll work with you _now_, but after this…I don't know what's going to happen. Do what you want with Tori, if she wants to be friends with you guys, I have no problem with that."

* * *

Your thoughts?


	18. Self-Doubts

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 18 (Self-Doubts)

Trina observed Sinjin as they stood on the upper level of the Estate, beside the railing that overlooked the lobby of the mansion. She'd been excited when he decided to swing by for a bit, though the others had come over as well. She got Tori to entertain them, although they seemed to want to talk to her, but she was busy with Sinjin. "Why are you not the least bit sore?" She leaned her elbow against the top of the wooden railing and raised her eyebrow at him, he was wearing a coat similar to Anders, only it was brown with brown fur shoulders. He had a long black staff attached to the holder on the back. "It's not fair, my entire body is sore, and I thought it wouldn't be that sore with how much I do Tae Kwon Do."

His lips turned to a smirk and his shoulders lifted up, "I guess Mages don't have to work too much with physical strength. If it's any consolation, my energy gets zapped completely after a day's worth of training. Ancestor Gramps had to practically drag me home."

"Ooh, no fun."

"Not at all." They turned towards the railing and gazed down at the first floor. She found it amusing that Tori and her friends were actually sitting on the floor, there really weren't any couches in this area. Tori was seated in a circle with Andre to her right and Robbie to her left. Cat was seated beside Robbie, Beck was next to her, his back turned towards Trina and Sinjin. Jade was between Andre and Beck. "Where are the ancestors? They went outside?"

"Yes, to look around the Hightown merchants." Trina leaned over the railing, folding her arms on the top. Her eyes drifted towards Sinjin's hands grasping the railing firmly. There were some cuts and scrapes, which were a bit concerning for her. "You got caught up in the middle of something too last night?" He peered down at his hands and frowned.

"Yeah. It wouldn't surprise me if most everybody did." His eyes held a glimpse of fear. She was startled, but a bit afraid to ask what he may have run into. She hadn't seen 'creatures' yet, but she had remained in the city.

"You guys went outside Kirkwall, I'm guessing?"

"No, we ran into a bunch of blood mages that summoned up a bunch of…" He flinched and slowly shook his head, moving his hand up to his forehead. "You see all the movies about demons, you read the stories, but until one actually appears in front of you and lunges for you…not something easily forgotten. This _thing_ had a fluid like body, but was made of fire. Its eyes were red, and when it opened its mouth, it was like staring into…"

She moved her hand over his, curling her fingers around his palm. Her eyes moved to his and he smiled softly. "It's okay, Sinjin." She wanted to say they weren't real, but that was a comfort that would likely fall flat. Most everybody seemed to be taking this moment to relax and truly wind down from all they went through in the prior day. "The sooner we find my ancestor, the sooner we get out of here. There are no demons back home."

"I guess not." He looked down to the people below, then casually smirked at her. She took a deep breath and met his witty gaze.

"And no, Tori's friends aren't demons. " Sinjin laughed once and she moved her head to his shoulder. A sudden spark shot through her, pumping from her heart. She tightened her grip on his hand and closed her eyes. Her body started to grow warm and her heart began to pound heavily in her chest. "Thank you for being here for me, Sinjin."

"Always." His smirk caught her by surprise and his gaze pulled her in, filling her with a sense of security and strength. Something she really only felt when around him. Her dad too, but that was a different feeling altogether. "Who else is going to help keep you from tearing off the heads of each of your sister's friends? Now that you have two sharp weapons that you get to walk around with, I suppose they need some protection." She let out a wry chuckle and lifted her head from his shoulder. Her eyes formed a mist that started to cloud her vision. As she swept away whatever water was coming, a look of concern fell over Sinjin. "Is everything okay? Are you crying?"

"No, it's not that." She didn't know why tears were forming, it was frustrating enough. Maybe it was fear, she didn't know. It was beginning to hit her how close she was with him, though she already knew how she felt for him. Her hand slid away from his, though it was more of a crawl and her pinky hooked onto his for a split second. "I guess for a second there…I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's all right, Trina. I understand." He smiled at her, then looked off towards the circle of friends down below, none had been paying any attention to what was going on. She felt a sting of pain inside and looked away. She was sick of all the confusion she had inside. Why couldn't she be like a normal girl who wanted to be with someone they loved? Why did fear have to stop her from doing the things that made her happy?

She let out a loud groan and turned to the bedroom door behind her, she was half tempted to storm off and lock herself in her room. Would it be so bad to disappear for a while? "Sometimes, Sinjin…" She leaned back against the railing and grasped the railing with her hands for leverage. "Sometimes I think there's something deeply wrong with me. I should be a normal girl with normal feelings and emotions, so why-"

"You are. What has you feeling like you're not?"

"Because I can't stop jumping at every little thing…Not to mention, they're all right about me-" She motioned to the people down below and narrowed her eyes. "I acknowledge I have some hyperactive tendencies, I have a bit of an ego, but hey, I have problems. I'm insecure at times, I don't trust people, and the one thing I want more than _anything_, I block out!" Sometimes you have to be wary of who you trust, some things you shouldn't let in, but she didn't think it was right to do so for everything under the sun.

"Trina, they're not right. You're a strong, independent and beautiful person with a good heart." Her heart skipped a beat before falling back down, just as he was lifting her up she fell. Did she not believe these words?

"If I'm so beautiful, then why do the people I allow inside hurt me?" She could feel watchful gazes, but wasn't paying any mind to the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. As far as she was concerned, it was only her and Sinjin, nobody else. "Boyfriends come and go, either they dump me in the most humiliating ways, or they abuse me. My own sister likes to make fun of me, and friends?" She scoffed and threw her arms out to the side. "What friends? Oh that's right, I'm not likable, so says every single one of my sister's friends. And according to them, my best friend Lindsay _never _liked me."

"You know that's not true."

"Isn't it?"

"She's reaching out to you, Trina…"

"I know, I just…I'm supposed to be strong, right? To help my ancestor and all that? How can I do that? Tell me…how you can see someone standing before you that is 'strong', 'beautiful', or even _likable_. I don't want to be liked, I want to be loved, but I guess that's another thing that won't happen."

"You've been hurt before, you've had people in your life get pushed away, and you know what?" She crossed her arms and turned away from him. He moved a gentle hand to her cheek, cupping it. She turned her gaze towards his, leaning in slightly. "You _are_ beautiful, you are loved, no matter what anybody says. So what if a few assholes said you aren't? So what if some men screwed you over? Fuck 'em. They don't know what they're losing or what they have lost. _I_ know what there is, because I see it. You put your all into everything, when you care about someone or something, you are passionate about it." Her arms fell to her sides and her shoulders shrugged. His words, still, drew her in and worked to pull her heart out of this muck that was like quicksand. Her emotions were like that of a tornado, throwing her every which way, but for some reason, Sinjin was able to help her gain some clarity. "Your sister's friends, those men that came along like Michael or Seth, fuck them all. Focus on what makes you happy and those who care about you. Don't be afraid to lean on people who you know you can…"

"Like you?"

"Well I would hope." He moved his hand away and smirked slightly, "You surely know how I feel about you."

That was what made it so hard. She was well aware of his feelings for her, he didn't need to say it either. Tension formed in her throat and a heaviness descended into her chest. "I know…and I-I just can't…" She closed her eyes and moved her hand to her right temple, rubbing it gently while it throbbed. "I have a headache, I need to get away from here."

"Trina-" She pulled away from him and moved for the bedroom, rushing before he could reach out to her. This was the feeling that always came, the urge to get away before she got too close.

She slammed the door behind her and planted her back and palms firmly against it, groaning as she struck the door with the back of her head. _"Idiot. It's not like he'd hurt you…he would never hurt you! Would he?"_

What the hell was she doing here? She couldn't do any of this! "Why does it have to fall on me?" She was a woman filled with doubts. She didn't dare believe for a second she had what it took to be strong, she wasn't exactly sure what to believe anymore.

She clasped her fingers onto her chest, holding it as though she were about to have a heart attack. Her heart was racing and her body was heating up to the point she was afraid she might be coming down with a fever. Tears began to form and her legs carried her towards the bed where she collapsed and curled.

"What's going on?" Her eyes shot open and panic struck her into paralysis. Her gaze flew towards the door where Jade was standing. She sneered at her, but did not make an attempt to move. Jade looked concerned for her, but Trina wasn't sure she was ready to trust that concern. Her instincts told her to flee, to scream and curse, but she remained silent instead as Jade sat down beside her.

"I'd forgotten you people were out there."

"Yeah…It's funny how you can become so intensely focused on the person who means most to you, and the whole world just disappears. That happens with me and Beck, though, that was before I knew some things that I know now…I know you probably don't care-"

"I don't."

Jade shot a glare, but her expression softened immediately and she let out a slow exhale. "Right." She looked to the side wall and shrugged.

"Sorry."

"No, you're fine. Trina, I know I am probably the last person you want to talk to right now. I just…I'm concerned."

"I'm just surprised you've not thought of something to humiliate me with, yet. For some reason I can't stop thinking you're planning _something._"

Jade remained silent, her lips dipped and her eyes closed over. "Maybe. I guess you'd have to trust me not to plan something, but that's going to take a while I guess…I don't expect you to trust me, I just, I am trying. I don't want to make this about me. I know you don't want to open yourself up to people, I'm just like that. I _hate_ opening myself up to people and I'm always closing myself up. That's why I've been such a _bitch_ to everyone…I'm working on that."

"Good luck with that." Regardless of intent or not, she didn't want to be snippy. It only came out that way. "I'm not in the mood, Jade. I am _really_ not in the mood to talk to _you_, either. I want to be alone."

"I just wanted to let you know…if you need someone to talk to-"

"It won't be you."

"Don't be so quick to brush people off, even if they're someone you don't like. That's what Aveline tells me…" Trina raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to scoff. How could _Jade_ possibly tell _her_ that advice? "I know it sounds hypocritical, and it is. I'm not a good person, Trina. I've made mistakes, I've done shit that I regret. I know how much I've hurt people, including you, and I know there's no going back. All I can do is say 'I'm sorry' and try to show that I'm changing. I wish I had gotten to know you more before I started giving you a hard time, I only did so because you were popular at the time and I was intimidated by it…popular people intimidate me, even though now it seems like…I don't know…"

Trina had to admit, she was almost moved by those words, and there was a genuine look of honesty in Jade's eyes. She couldn't deny that it made her feel _something_, whether it was a connection to this girl or something else. "I'm glad you admit that, at least…You realize indirectly you and those people out there caused what friends I had to leave me? Mostly because I was too insecure to both to stick up for myself." She pushed herself into an upright position and moved back against the wooden headboard. "At the very least, I ran into Lindsay and she wants me to call her so we can try and start over, but I don't know…I don't trust people, because of you people. I'm not at all a trusting person, and don't mistake my talking to you now as a sign of friendship, or even bonding, I'm keeping you well beyond arm's reach."

"I understand. I'm not expecting that, I just…I want you to know that you _can_ talk to me. Look, I know you're worried about what's going on here, we all are. None of us are ready to go out and fight all these demons and monsters, but we have to, we're going to, because _your_ ancestor needs us all. It's scary, but we need to work together and get this done…"

"Yeah, I know we do."

"Well, we can, but we have to be able to communicate, okay?" She rolled her eyes and Jade exhaled despairingly. "We do, all of us. I know it's hard, but everything I ever said to you in the past…all the negative shit…I'm sorry. I was stupid, and I still am. I'm not going to attempt to pretend it didn't happen, but, we need to try and move on from it."

"I know that, I just need time. I need to process everything."

"Well while you do that, we're all going to be here. Nobody's going anywhere, it isn't like we can anyway." Jade rose from the bed and started for the door, stopping to glance back over her shoulder. She gave her a smile and motioned her head outside. "Tori and Cat had this interesting idea, they want to try and pull Sinjin into it. They're going to try and enchant all of our cell phones, in a way that we can all communicate with each other while we're not here. Could be useful?"

"You think that would actually work?"

"Worth a shot to see."

"I suppose so…"

Jade opened the door and stepped outside, still looking at Trina, "And by the way. You _are_ beautiful and strong, you just have to see it like Sinjin and your sister do. Trust me, Tori sees it."

"We'll see…just leave me alone for a little bit. I'll come out and see what you're all up to in a minute."

"All right, want me to let them know?"

"I don't care…" With that, Jade nodded and left the room, shutting the door after her. Trina closed her eyes and lay back on the pillow, breathing from her nostrils as she contemplated leaving the room versus curling underneath the blankets. It probably wouldn't be long before Sinjin came in to pull her out of the bed, so the latter was likely not going to happen anytime soon.

* * *

Your thoughts?


	19. Dangers of Future Technology

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 19 (Dangers of Future Technology)

Trina stretched and pulled her blankets up to her chin, sighing in contentment as she began to stir awake. She hadn't realized she fell asleep, but it had been one of the more peaceful sleeps she'd had in years. The bed was warm and inviting, the blankets were soft and light on her body, it felt as though she were sleeping on a cloud. As she opened her eyes, she saw her cell phone sitting on the end table beside her.

Slowly she sat up, moving her hand to her forehead. How long had she been out? She was alert and ready to move, but her body was still sluggish from the nap. Knowing the phone's clock worked, she grabbed at it and glanced to the time in the corner. "Okay, nearly two hours…" A yawn drifted from her lips and her body started to fall back onto the bed. "I don't want to get up. I'll close my eyes, open them and be back home…"

Growing up in her teenage years, she always said she wanted to be born in an earlier time, a predated era, but now she was just homesick for her proper time. Jade's parting words filled her mind and beckoned her to further consider Tori's friends as legitimately attempting to better themselves. _Maybe_ Jade was genuine, which came to her as the greatest shock, but she wasn't convinced the others would or could change their ways.

Jade, at least, acknowledged she wasn't perfect. Trina would challenge the others to even remotely consider it a possibility that they weren't perfect in every way, thereby making them a bunch of shallow egomaniacs without a prayer.

She grabbed the pillow and brought it over her face, dropping her phone beside her. "I don't want to be here. I want to be in my own room…" Too much to ask for, perhaps? According to the dream she had while napping, it was.

In the dream, she awoke as her ancestor, trapped in a case of some sort and unable to move anything but her eyes. She could see everything around her, and tried to scream in hopes of getting someone's attention. Instead, all she could see was a candlelit room, with smaller candles surrounding her like some strange shrine, and a man gazing at her with a disturbing expression on his face. She felt vulnerable, and hated every second of it.

The images remained in her mind like a collage, a slideshow playing over and over again, reminding her why she wanted to go home.

Her phone's ringtone blared into her ear, startling her and causing her to fly from the bed screaming. She spun around and stared down at the glowing object with wide eyes. _"How in the hell?"_ She now recalled that before she'd taken her nap, she hadn't even touched her phone, it had been on the desk. Jade mentioned the others wanting to try something with their phones. Had they managed to enchant them, or whatever it was they were planning?

She hesitated for a split second before grabbing the phone and striking the answer button. To her surprise, it was Tori. "Trina, did I wake you? I'm sorry, we wanted to test something."

"Wake? No. Scare the living shit out of me? Yes. What the hell did you do to my phone? How in the hell is it _working?"_

"Magic! Come out of the room and I'll tell you all about it." Her eyes flew skyward. Never before did she think 'magic' would be a serious or believable answer to anything. Not to mention, how many times had she told Tori _not to touch her stuff_? "Come on!"

"Fine, fine…" She cut off the call and stared at the cell, still in utter shock and disbelief. She left the room and made her way downstairs where the rest of Tori's friends, as well as Sinjin, were waiting for her. She showed them her phone and narrowed her eyes. "Okay, what's the big idea?" Their phones were piled together, with the servants of the mansion staring at them. Sandal, the dwarf boy, seemed insanely proud.

"Trina!" Tori jumped over excitedly and hugged her. Her sister continued to laugh as she stepped back and held out her own phone. "Okay so we were trying to figure out how to possibly make our phones work when Sandal had a way to help us enchant the batteries in the phone. Now, obviously we can only contact each other in this time line, and any phone that we have enchanted…and only for five to ten minutes at length each time. It'll stay enchanted for as long as we want, but now we have a way to contact one another!"

It was amazing, she could find use for it. Though, she didn't _need_ her phone for much, it was still important to her that she have a swifter way of contacting Sinjin or Tori. "I can see the use…but I guess we better not let anyone out there catch us using them. Could spell trouble."

"Probably…" With how it seemed Templars were dealing with Mages, it would be far too risky to let it slip up. Not to mention what would happen if someone tried to reach the other person in the middle of Hightown!

"I think if anyone needs to contact someone, it's best everyone have their phone on vibrate and go somewhere private to respond. Phones aren't very normal here, in case you haven't noticed."

"That's a very good point." She also felt it would be good to let the ancestors in on this, though they probably wouldn't know what to do with it. "It took us an hour and a half to figure out how to get these things working, so let's make sure we take care of them."

Trina pushed her phone into her pocket. It was far too risky to have it around, but it_ would_ surely help in cases of emergency. A familiar chime played in her ears, and all eyes moved to Cat, who was giggling over a playlist on her phone. Thinking fast, Jade swiped it away. "Okay, Cat, you don't get the phone."

The redhead gasped and reached for the phone, whining when Jade refused to hand it over. "What? Why!"

"I don't think you can be responsible enough not to use it."

"She's right Cat," Trina folded her arms over as the girl pouted at her. "It's too dangers, and you have a tendency to act without thinking. What's going to happen if you're in the middle of a group of people in this timeline, not just the Templars, and you decide to start playing out something like _Free Bird_ on your phone?"

"I could…I don't know, make them dance with me?" Cat had an innocent look in her eyes. Robbie shook his head and Trina took the phone from Jade. "Aw but Trina…"

"These are for emergency use _only_, Cat. No calling each other unless absolutely necessary, and under no circumstances should you play music on your phone." Cat's shoulders fell. Tori rubbed her chin and tugged back her lips.

"Only the calling and the text messaging should work, but I guess it let's you play music you might have already downloaded on the phone. That _can _be a problem for someone who really wants to listen to it."

"It's okay if they take my phone away," Cat grabbed her phone and squealed happily. "I have another phone back home! A backup." Trina raised an eyebrow and began moving for the front door, the others followed her. She had to show Cat that it wasn't the phone she was concerned about. She grabbed Cat's phone away, causing the girl to squeal out once more. When she opened the door, she saw the merchant, Hubert, that the ancestors told her about, passing them by.

Hubert was a jackass that owned a mine he roped Sarah into helping him with. He didn't care a bit for the workers there, and didn't even say his respects when a giant dragon destroyed the mine and killed all the workers. He deserved to go into jail.

"Okay then, Cat. Since you apparently have a backup…" The others paled when she walked up behind the man, without him realizing it. She placed the phone in the brown bag at his waist, and returned to her house after making sure nobody saw anything. The others covered their mouth and watched as Trina pulled her own phone out, dialed Cat's number, and smirked.

"No! My phone!"

"I'm not worried about the phone, Cat, and neither should you be. What's about to happen…is what I would rather _not_ happen to any of you. As much as I may not like you, I don't want shit to go down." Cat's phone blasted out in Hubert's sack, causing him to freeze and scream. A look of terror spread across his face and several people surrounded him, three of which were Templars.

The others watched in silence as the people threw him onto the ground and searched his pack, pulling out the ringing phone. Trina closed her eyes and turned away in time to see one of the Templars crush the phone on the ground and order Hubert taken away for investigation.

"He is a criminal, dealing in acts of terror against people all the way up to essentially destroying a mine. Aveline said she has received numerous reports of him, and now he will be investigated. First and foremost, however…" She pointed outside and all eyes fell onto Hubert's descending figure. "That will happen to anyone whose phone goes off in the middle of a crowded place in this city. So avoid it."

With that, everyone removed their phones and put them on silent, ensuring that it would not make any noise whatsoever. Though Cat still seemed to mourn the loss of her phone, staring with wide eyes and pouting her lower lip. "My phone…"

"You have another back home, you said. Deal with it. I'm pretty sure all of you have just about everything you could ever want, including a fine assortment of _phone_. You don't need to worry, especially since you don't _need_ a phone in this time."

"And you don't have multiple phones?" Andre questioned, raising an eyebrow. Sinjin shot him a glare and Trina shook her head.

"I only have one phone, only need one, and that's it. Besides, _I'm_ not some spoiled brat who has a dad buy her every little thing under the sun."

"You realize you don't know us, right?"

"Andre, enough!" Jade barked, surprising Trina yet again. Andre flinched as Jade's fiery glare fell onto him. "I think she got a pretty good idea with how she's been treated, don't you think? It's the other way around, in case you've forgotten. _We_ don't know anything about her…"

"Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that, I just…I wasn't thinking…"

Tori crossed her arms and looked down upon the seemingly-shrinking man. Trina's eyebrow arched up and a sudden peace descended upon her where normally she would become angered. Was it because someone else was doing the fighting back for her? "Andre. You guys say you want to get to know my sister, to be friends with her, and yet you still want to pick at her? Come _on_, get with it. I already told you if to start respecting her."

Trina lifted a hand and stepped in front of Andre, "Tori, Jade, it's fine." She met his gaze, still searching herself for some sort of anger that she could unleash onto him, but there was nothing. Instead, she could only speak calmly. "I'll give you that one, I'm sorry Andre. You're right, I shouldn't presume and judge you to be someone when I may not know the real you. The truth of the matter is, I _don't_ know who you are. I don't know who any of you are, all I have are the impressions of you that you've given to me…and that is someone who has treated me so harshly over however many years it's been. So you'll have to excuse me if I may have a dislike for you…I have a good reason. So I'm sorry if I rub you the wrong way, it is something I am dealing with. Give me time, and maybe I'll change my mind about you and your friends. Got it?"

"Y-Yeah…Sorry…"

"Good."

As the tension in the air subsided, the ancestors came into the estate. It was Aveline, Merrill, and Varric that showed up this time around. "Did you guys know Hubert just got dragged away after a 'strange object' let out a loud sound just minutes ago?" Aveline asked, staring at the group with a sly, knowing look. Trina chuckled nervously as the rest of the group glared at her, they _knew_ they were in trouble now. "I received a description matching what looked similar to those strange talking devices you all have that you call _phones."_

"She got rid of my phone!" Cat cried out, "It wasn't fair."

"Okay…future devices, not sure how you got them working here, but you may as well explain…after that, we have some serious work to do."

Of course, this was going to be one hell of a long explanation.

* * *

The have enchanted the phones, but can only make short calls to one another or send a text, which may take a while to be received. Not the most helpful, but still it'll help them reach one another faster.


	20. Charade: Gamlen's Greatest Treasure

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: This covers heavily one of the missions in Act 3 of the game, after this, they're going to start making some headway on the ancestor.

* * *

Chapter 20 (Charade: Gamlen's Greatest Treasure)

"So who is after Gamlen, again?" Trina was with Sinjin, Tori and Jade, investigating some note that Gamlen had given to Aveline about a jewel that someone wanted him to find. Trina decided to travel with Jade over the others because, for some odd reason, Jade was currently the most tolerable. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Jade somewhat acknowledged her problems and admitted to her that she never believed herself to be above anyone in reality.

"Not sure anyone is _after_ him," Sinjin replied, "Just that the letter states some sort of gem he was searching for several years ago was found. Something to that extent…" A gem that was to be in Darktown.

_ I found the Gem of Keroshek. If you want it, come to Darktown. Alone._

Gamlen revealed the legend of the gem while talking with Aveline, who reiterated it to the group. He said he wasn't going to bother with it, and that when told of what happened to Sarah, he figured it might be a good idea to let them know about the note. His instincts were that Darktown, as well as the foreboding word 'alone', could only mean a trap. It bothered her somewhat that they had to do this, but it _was_ for their Great-uncle Gamlen. He was practically family now! Plus, she had a feeling, this was something Sarah would have done for him.

When they rounded the corner, they found a group of mercenaries standing in a horde, they seemed suspicious, but also out of place for Darktown. They weren't wearing rags, and looked to be somewhat wealthier than the usual suspects. The chubby blonde haired man, who appeared to be the leader, eyed them from head to toe. "Hey, one of you this Gamlen chap?" Trina smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"I am related to him, if that's close enough. Now what's all this about a gem?"

"Well…first off, we want it." She had a sinking suspicion they were plotting an ambush, but all this over a legend? Gamlen never even found this treasure. It apparently had something to do with the reason his wife left him in the past, or something to that extent. She wasn't sure, nor did she want to go into details.

"Well now, how can I give you something that I don't even have with me?"

"Oh, so you're going to be a smartass about it?"

"Well it seems the best way to state the obvious since the note indicated that the _sender_ had this gem." She could see he was insulted by her words, but she couldn't help it, she was miffed that she had to deal with this guy as a side note to the mission at hand she wanted to deal with. "Sorry, you're just a speed bump on my path."

"What did you just call me?" Sinjin smacked his forehead and Jade shook her head, Tori leaned in and whispered that the people in this time would not know what a speed-bump analogy meant. She rolled her eyes and watched the man grab his daggers from his back. The rest of the men drew their weapons as well and Trina let out a heavy sigh.

"Great. I pissed 'em off." She drew her daggers and leapt back as the blonde slashed at her. "Watch it there, blonde boy."

"The name is _Mekel!"_

"Could have told me that. You'll have to mind my bitterness, I'm going through a rough time of month right now that I'm _pretty sure_ you don't have medical terminology for right now." She saw Sinjin's face go sour and the girls exchanged knowing looks while holding back urges to laugh.

"Strike that on the list of things I wasn't expecting to hear right now," Sinjin muttered.

Jade smirked in return, "Oh you think that's bad Sinjin? Try having your grandma drop in on you and your boyfriend making out in the bed…" Sinjin groaned and Trina's eyebrows shot up.

"_This_ is why I didn't want to be the only guy in the group!"

"You have heard worse," Trina pointed out. They'd definitely talked about her PMS before, though not as often, but there were very many things she felt comfortable about talking with him if she needed advice. One time, she thought she found a lump on her breast and asked him, without showing him of course, if it was anything serious, as his mother was a doctor. He got his mom, who determined it wasn't serious, but if anything happened with it, to schedule an appointment. "Remember the lump I had to talk to your mom about?" Tori gasped and immediately questioned her about it, since she never brought it up. "It was nothing."

They turned their attention back to Mekel and his men, who were gawking at them in a haze of great confusion. "What…in _blazes_ are you people going on about?"

"Personal stuff! Mind your own business!" She lunged forward, swinging her daggers inwards. Mekel started to grumble and charged at her.

After the fight, it turned out Mekel didn't have the gem, but rather, another note that was a supposed clue to something else. A 'wallop mallet'. They had to ask Aveline what in the hell that was, and it turned out to be some game that sounded similar to cricket, but not quite the same.

The hunt for this led to the large tree at the Elvin Alienage in Lowtown, which was evidently the wood that wallop mallets were made from. Gamlen said he used to play the game all the time, of course. When they went, they found a man who said someone in a cloak gave _him_ a note, one which led straight to a fish guttery in the Docks, where they were to look in crates for another clue.

They were exhausted from following the notes all over the place, to the point that even Sinjin was starting to get pissed off. Much to their chagrin, the fish place was yet _another_ ambush from mercenaries. They found themselves surrounded, so Tori stepped forward, magic surging from her fingertips. "Let me try something," she stated in a velvet-like, calm voice. "Anders said our magic is like…ten times stronger than our ancestors because of the age gap…so, I'm going to test the theory."

"Feel free, sis." She stepped back with the others and crossed her arms, watching as five mercenaries came running for them. Tori flexed her fingers and moved her hands together, hovering them apart by five inches. A ball of fire and smoke began to form, and her lips turned up into a smirk. The mercenaries saw this and started to turn the other way, but it was all too late.

An explosion shook the foundation as fire shot out from Tori's hands like a tidal wave of lava. It covered the screaming enemies and silenced them. When the fire died down and the smoke cleared, the five mercenaries were gone, turned into a pile of ashes. The remaining bounty whimpered at the loss of their friends. Tori straightened herself up and flipped her hair over her shoulder while Trina and the others remained in awe of her sister's power.

"I'm about five hundred years from being related to Gamlen. That being said, who else wants a piece of me? I've been training and training on my magic, so…want to see what else I got in my arsenal, or are you going to tell us where to go and end this mess?"

They cried out in terror, dropping a note that revealed the person waiting for them at a cave somewhere outside of town, then ran screaming for their lives. Trina looked back at the group and grinned. "See? Sometimes you have to burn a few bad guys to get what you want."

Jade appeared visibly shaken, and sighed in response, "Remind me not to ever get on your bad side again."

"It's Trina you should worry about, especially since it _is_ that time…" Tori looked to Sinjin and cleared her throat. "Chocolate and flowers. Now." He rolled his eyes and Trina walked towards the exit, ignoring the conversation. She wasn't a big fan of flowers, but chocolate was all right _if_ it was something along the lines of Whitmans or those Queen Anne chocolate covered cherries, but that was it.

"Remind me to buy her some Whitmans when we get home," Sinjin muttered, following after her. She beamed with pride and Tori was in awe. Was it that surprising that he knew what she liked? She'd only told him a million times over the years.

Jade sheathed her sword and spread her arms out in a shrug, "Seriously, why aren't you two dating? You get along better than I do with Beck! That's saying something!" Sinjin raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder, smirking her way.

"How so? How many times have you two broken up and gotten back together again?" Jade narrowed her eyes and Tori snickered.

"Hah, hah, very funny. Seriously though, why aren't you?"

Trina pushed open the wooden door and gazed out at the water in front of them, "I'm not ready. That's why. I don't really feel I need to go into detail there. As for right now, let's get this mission over with so we can continue on finding my ancestor before something bad happens."

At the caves, while walking through the cold and dreary caverns, Tori had moved herself out from between Trina and Jade. The two girls were now walking side by side, but only because Trina didn't feel enough concern to bother with moving away from Jade. "You want to explain what you said back there, Jade? Your ancestor dropped in on you and Beck making out?"

"Yes…Actually we were getting a little carried away, so she dropped in at about the right time. For us, that is, I'm not sure she felt too good about it." She chuckled and watched Jade fidget with her hair, pulling it back as a distraction from the subject. "I know what you're _probably_ thinking, and no, I don't try to have sex."

"I would have thought you guys had sex before."

"Why?"

"Because of that old Robarazzi," Sinjin said from behind. Jade's eyes widened and she let out a groan, gently sweeping her fingers over her forehead. "It seemed like Beck was trying to talk you into having sex." Trina agreed and Tori nodded in reply. She actually discussed this with Sinjin back in the day when it happened. It was a miracle that Robbie never actually targeted her for anything.

"Okay I can explain that." She was eager to hear the explanation, but at the same time, was more distracted by her surroundings. The cave walls were dry, rocky and somehow well lit. There were stone pathways with grass growing, and openings in the ceiling. It was a truly remarkable sight!

"So you're saying what?"

"I'm not the type of girl who has sex with her boyfriend, I prefer waiting until marriage. I know it gets hard when we start making out, and yes he _has_ tried to pressure me into having sex, but…the closest we ever came was when Aveline showed up, and that was just when we were getting too into making out." Jade took a deep breath, pausing for a minute before continuing on. "I don't want to be one of those unwed pregnant teens. There's enough teenage mama drama in the world as it is…"

"That's a good way to look at it." She had to admit, she was surprised. This was a new side of Jade she hadn't known about, but she wasn't ready quite yet to start trusting the girl or anything. She would still keep her skepticism, because being open about one thing didn't mean much at all.

After some amount of walking, they came upon an open clearing where a woman with a bow was waiting for them. She was tall, slender, and had wavy brown hair with neat, curly bangs in a flat line above her eyebrows. The woman had blue mascara and a look of fleeting hope on her face. "Well. This doesn't seem like the usual ambushes we've been running into so far."

"What is this?" The woman asked, walking up to them. "Gamlen couldn't even be bothered to come here himself? I give him the one thing he wants most, and he doesn't even have the decency to come?" She sensed a note of despair and began to suspect something more to all of this than what she was originally thinking.

"You make some sort of game out of seeking out Gamlen, nearly get us killed in the process, and _why?"_

"Killed? What are you talking about?"

Just then a man stepped out of the shadows, he was wearing the same red armor as Mekel and had two daggers attached to his back. Trina groaned as the man glared at her. "Charade, This bitch killed my brother." Was he referring to Mekel? Did they not attack them?

"Are you talking about the blonde guy that jumped us in Darktown?" The man hissed and Charade stared in shock at the man.

"Veld, what is she talking about? Mekel was only supposed to give her the note."

"Oh, you mean you don't know?" Trina smirked at the girl and crossed her arms, half tempted to walk off right now. "We were ambushed by a bunch of men looking for that thing you mentioned."

"I know about the gem," Veld drew his daggers and narrowed his eyes, growling angrily. "And I want it."

"Oh great. _Another _fight." She rolled her eyes and waited as several mercenaries surrounded them. Charade began to scold her apparent boyfriend, but that didn't appear to matter. The asshole was more concerned about whatever this jewelry was, and Trina was still concerned that it was a piece of shit. "You know, _Veld_, is it? You should probably learn not to piss off a girl when she's in the middle of her period without a pack of tampons."

"Trina, really?" Sinjin pinched the bridge of his nose and Tori shivered. Veld and the mercenaries seemed confused, so Charade took the moment to push him away and draw her bow.

The fight lasted for a good fifteen minutes until all the mercenaries were unconscious on the ground. Charade stepped over Veld's body and looked towards the group with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about all of this. I…I didn't think this was going to happen."

"You said something about Uncle Gamlen how do you know him?"

"I'm his daughter, but I guess he wouldn't have told you about me in the first place." Charade put her bow and arrows back in the quiver, scoffing as she turned away. The hurt was clear in her eyes, her mascara seemed to hide well the tears that were forming. She was surprised to learn about this cousin of Sarah's, it was a very important piece of information!

"You're his daughter?"

"Mom told me about him when she passed away…I just assumed he was a jackass that left us behind, but I wanted to find him."

"Gamlen said his wife left him a long time ago. Does he even know about you?" Charade paused and bowed her head, her expression twisted with doubt and her shoulders rose up.

"I-I don't even know…"

"You should go visit him. He's in Lowtown, I can direct you there. Just, next time, please try showing up at the door instead. It's less of a headache."

"I know, I just thought if I baited him with something he really wanted, he'd go after it. Mom told me how much he always wanted to go after this jewel…" Charade pulled a round object with a ruby jewel inside of it. Trina was astounded by its beauty, but at the same time, Gamlen did seem like a man that would likely be more fond of having a daughter than having that jewel. "I guess it was too much to ask for."

"I don't know, give talking to Gamlen a try. He's really not that bad once you get to know him." She _hoped_ that was the truth, but it had to be. Charade gave her a smile and quickly nodded her head.

"You're right…having a cousin turned out to be a good thing, maybe having a dad will too."

She raised her hand to speak, but Charade was already walking towards the exit of the cave. "Uh-should I tell her I'm not…Sarah…or just leave it alone?"

"I am sure your ancestor will figure it out," Sinjin replied, "But first off let's get back to Aveline at the Barracks." The reason Aveline hadn't been with them this time was due to her busy schedule. Everyone had something they had to deal with at the time, so it left Trina and the group as the only ones that could go on this arduous task. "I'm sure she'll be happy to hear everything's resolved."

"Gamlen too."

"Definitely."

* * *

There you go, just a quick little chapter to bring you some amusement. Also "Gamlen's Greatest Treasure" was the last mission I had left in Sarah's playthrough after Best Served Cold. Though, I think I had more, but we won't see other missions, this pretty much clears up those last ones.


	21. Bad Blood in a Haunting Past

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 21 (Bad Blood in a Haunting Past)

"Grand Cleric Elthina, we need your advice," Trina declared as she loudly stormed up the steps. Elthina turned to her, startled by her sudden outburst. The grey haired woman flattened her gaze and pat her hands along her Chantry robe. "We need to talk about Meredith and Orsino, but it has nothing to do with what's going on right now."

"I'd like to apologize first and foremost for her outburst," Sinjin chuckled and Trina turned her glare slowly onto him, causing him to silence. Elthina looked beyond her at Sinjin, Tori, and Jade. Sebastian and Aveline were making their way up the steps behind them. "She is not in a good mood lately, and I really need to shut up now before she kills me."

Slightly embarrassed, she turned back to the woman and straightened herself, quick to clear her throat. "No he's right. I didn't mean any disrespect, I'm just in a bit of a hurry. Terrible, terrible things are happening." Elthina walked towards the podium near the giant statue of the God they worshipped.

"I believe I have said the best action is peace, I am aware of the tension growing between Meredith and Orsino."

"I need to know if you know anything about their _past_, though." Elthina raised an eyebrow and glanced quizzically at her. The woman didn't appear to recognize that she wasn't Sarah, or that what she wanted to know was if the woman knew anything about their illegitimate child together.

"That past is between the two of them, my dear."

"Yet it affects everyone, _including them._ They had an affair, a son. Didn't they?" Elthina froze, her muscles tensed and the darkness in her eyes gave way to the truth of the matter. Trina took a bold step forward, trying to emotionally reach out to this woman. "_Please_, this could very well be for their sake too. It's important, something has happened to Sarah. The Champion's in danger, and we think…we think it might have to do with something that happened to Meredith and Orsino in the past. What happened? Where is the son?"

"I do not know…I was also sworn to secrecy."

"Really? What are you, the freakin' pope?" Elthina gasped out and Trina moved her hand to her forehead, sighing heavily. "I apologize again."

"You need to think before you speak…now…are you not the Champion? Is my eyesight failing me?" It seemed to be true, only Gamlen had been able to tell she wasn't Sarah. It was quite a strange fiasco, really. Even Charade had been surprised to find out she wasn't Sarah when she went to talk to Gamlen for the first time. She wanted desperately to meet her.

"I am not." She held her breath for a moment, thinking of what she could possibly say. She couldn't just blurt out the truth without seeming insane, but she had to say _something_. "This is going to be difficult to explain, so you_ may _want to sit down."

"All right…follow me."

At a table in the right wing of the Chantry, Elthina sat at the head of the long rectangular table with dull expression on her face, mixed with contemplation. Trina sat with Sinjin and Tori to her right, while Jade and Aveline sat on the other side with Sebastian beside Elthina. The aged woman pat her palms on the wooden surface and leaned back in the chair, sighing theatrically.

"Okay, so you're telling me…you're from the future, thanks to blood magic and a portal created by this…evil mage?" She waved her hand in the air and stared down at the table, attempting to process the situation the best she possibly could. "The mage locked the Champion away with her ancestor, the _son_ of Meredith and Orsino?"

"Yes, yes, and yes. Or, we think so anyway. She let the ancestor in on the plan, so it's very possible that either Orsino or Meredith could be the one who has her." Elthina dismissed the thought without so much as a blink of an eye, brandishing her hand in the air and shaking her head.

"Impossible, they wouldn't do that. I know things are tough and both are at each other's throat, but there is good reason for that. At the root of everyone's hatred, there is a cause. You mentioned in your story that a lyrium idol has driven Meredith to the brink of insanity and blood magic has made Orsino crazy…but I am telling you, those are merely tools. Tools used to gain power and erase fears. The only way they know how…"

"They're both potentially risking a war that is going to lead to many dead," Sinjin replied, "And for the record…I highly recommend you _please_ seek shelter away from the Chantry."

"Let's not start this again." The woman inhaled deeply and moved her fingers to her right temple. "Sarah and Sebastian have already attempted to move me from this place for 'my safety', but I am performing the will of the Maker. Whatever the Maker so chooses as my path, so be it. I am not going to further discuss that matter." Her eyes flicked off to the right, then closed over as a sigh left her lips once more, this time it was a breath of guilt. "I know I promised secrecy, as I suspect the pope or priests of the Catholic church must do when one confesses to them. Yes, Meredith and Orsino had a brief affair, a falling out, and they came to me…to 'fix' it. Or, I should say, Meredith came to me. I keep this a private matter, because if people were made aware of the past, then it could spell disaster for one of those two."

Aveline slammed her hands on the table and rose up, glaring down at the woman, "You're saying you know incriminating information that you've been withholding from Kirkwall?! We are in a state of disaster, if a war breaks out because of those two over something that you knew and could have stopped, then blood is on your hands!"

"If it is as you say, and she's gotten her hands on that idol…then I'm afraid it's inevitable." The lyrium idol was what the group found on their Deep Roads Expedition several years back, where Varric's brother was driven insane by its mysterious power and locked him as well as Sarah, Merrill, and Aveline in the ancient tombs. They escaped and found his brother driven insane by the idol, having killed all of his guards and too far goon to be saved. They had to put him down like a rabid animal, and the idol was gone, it had been sold to someone else. Knowing the stories from her father, Trina knew that the person who bought the idol was in fact, Meredith. An attempt to gain more power. It indeed drove her insane, eventually killing her in the heat of battle.

Their father always said that throughout the generations the story goes that the desperation, fear and pain remained glued onto Meredith's expression as her body turned to stone and crumbled into dust.

"Grand Cleric…Why does Meredith hate mages so much? Does it have to do with that child of hers?" Elthina shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Orsino is the reason she dislikes mages so strongly…Twenty years some odd years ago, I was a young mother in the Chantry here." Elthina's voice lowered to a small whisper and her body began to tremble as everyone listened to her tale with eagerness, in hopes it would divulge _something_ for her. "This young lady, ten years my junior, came to me with tears in her eyes and blood covering her body…in her arms, she held a strange young infant. Seeing the pain in her expression, I had to help her…The thing is, Orsino was _already_ a high official, close to the seat of First Enchanter at the time, so it wasn't something that…I could let out. My Grand Cleric would allow no such thing…"

_"Please, I need someone," the young, thirty year old blonde cried. "Please don't turn me away, please. You're the only one I can turn to, he's trying to kill us!"_

_ "What are you talking about?" Elthina put her arm around the woman's back and started to walk towards the altar with her. She brushed her light blonde hair from her face and smiled through her gentle eyes. "You're safe here…" This woman was trembling as though she were freezing, she was covered in cuts, and the baby in her arms was screaming so loud that she feared it would wake her superiors in the Chantry._

_ The Grand Cleric at the time was not one to allow for someone in after hours, she had strict regulations regarding just who could enter. "What is your name, sweetheart? What happened to you?"_

_ "My former boyfriend…he, he uses blood magic. We were seeing each other, he's the father of my baby. Look, my baby." The woman's hand shook above her child's breast, and the wide eyed infant gazed up in silence. Her hair still covered her face, making it difficult for Elthina to get a good look at the woman. "He's trying to kill my baby!"_

_ "Shh, calm down, it's going to be okay." Suddenly a sharp pounding came from the large doors. The woman gasped out and ran beneath a nearby table, clutching her baby to her chest. _

_ "That might be him! Please you can't let him find me!" The woman pulled her hair back, finally revealing her face. Elthina was stunned to see it was one of the Templar recruits at the Gallows, Meredith Stannard. She moved her hand over her mouth and looked back to the door. "H-He was someone I met at the Circle. I thought I could help him, he was trying to get me to see not all mages were bad."_

_ "I don't think they all are, dear…"_

_ "We were dating. He's in a place of power, he doesn't want me to speak out, I think." A place of power? Then who in the hell was this guy then? _

_ She sympathized with Meredith, however. It was not so long ago that she lost her family and her sister, a mage turned into a demon. She was rescued by the templars, but that demon that turned her sister wound up killing several people. Magic was therefore an incredibly sore spot for her, the fact that a mage got her pregnant was stunning enough, but there was no doubt she didn't admit that fact to anyone. "How did you hide the fact that your father was a mage?"_

_ "He used political leverage, and I kept it quiet. The Templars would be angry! I don't want to lose my baby…I know I'm going to lose my baby to the circle, but at least I have time if _he_ doesn't…hurt him…"_

_ "Just be quiet, I won't let anyone hurt you." She pulled the tablecloth down, covering Meredith up and turning just in time to see the doors open. An angry man stepped in, glaring at Elthina with anger in his eyes. His ferociousness stifled her, she froze up and clasped her hand over her chest. _

_ The man had pointy ears, like an elf, and black hair combed back. His eyes were narrow, snakelike, and his mouth was pulled back into an angry grimace. He was a tall and lanky figure with a onyx staff in his hand. After a second, she recognized him as Orsino, the right hand man to the current First Enchanter! She let out a gasp and heard Meredith's timid whimper. _

_ "Mother Elthina, have you seen a blonde woman and her baby? I am looking for them." She was not to lie, but at this point of time, it seemed protecting Meredith and that infant was most important. How on earth could she contend with the First Enchanter's right hand, though? "It's nothing serious, it's just…I am trying to talk her into not going to the Viscount or the First Enchanter about this…"_

_ "What do you mean? Also, I do not know who you speak of, since I am the only person here tonight. With the exception of the Grand Cleric, who is sleeping in her quarters at the moment." She took a step forward, crossing her arms and narrowing her sharp gaze onto this man. He had blood on him, likely blood he was attempting to drain out of Meredith to silence her. "But I assure you, I realize that you must be up to something. I _will_ bring this matter to the Grand Cleric, Viscount, Knight Commander, _and_ the First Enchanter if you do not cease and desist in attempting to harm someone. I can see the blood on your clothing…"_

_ "What?" Orsino bowed his head, wincing at the blood on his clothes and body. "Fine I will not harm the person. All I want is to ensure that she will not bring up that I am the child's father. She is insisting on bringing it up to the leaders…" He put his hand to his forehead and chuckled softly, closing his eyes and shaking his head, "She believes by doing so, my status will prevent the child from ever having to go into the circle in the future. The child clearly has magic tendencies, as it has used magic without realizing it...Either way, if it gets out that _I_ fathered a bastard child with one of the Templar recruits, then I'm done. If this gets out, I have no chance, my reputation will be tarnished for good."_

_ "You are the father, you should be able to take care of it…"_

_ "I cannot. Meredith's irrational fear of mages has her thinking, for god knows why, that she's going to lose the baby to demons in the future." He put his hand to his chest and gave her a charming smile, "As well as thinking that I am going to turn into some kind of monster. I'm no monster, I just can't have it getting out that I have a child. You understand, surely?"_

_ "I am sorry, I cannot help you. I will…I suppose, let you know, if I see this woman. Just promise me that you will _not_ harm this woman or her child now or in the future. I mean that, promise me that or I _will_ report it to the Viscount." Orsino looked to her and stared for a minute, his eyes drifted to the table, where the cloth seemed to sway for a second._

_ "Yeah sure…I promise, I will not harm her or the child." _

_ "Thank you…" Orsino left after that, and Meredith crawled out from beneath the table, trembling as she clutched her child close. _

_ "Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank-"_

_ "I'm afraid we're not finished here," A woman's voice burst from the steps and the women turned to see the elder Grand Cleric staring down at her. Elthina could feel her heart cease as she feared the worst, this woman was not a calm Grand Cleric, like one ought to be. Rather, she ruled with a iron fist and often sided with those in power. "Orsino is correct, that baby must not be known. I have to take the child…at the very least, for its own safety."_

_ "What?" Meredith gasped and took a slight step back. "No! No you can't, you won't do anything to me or my baby. The chantry isn't supposed to interfere like that…"_

_ "Grand Cleric?" Elthina stepped up in Meredith's defense, but shrank back at the woman's glare. _

_ "I should punish you for openly lying to the First Enchanter's right hand, but I am not a cruel woman. I can understand the fears of a woman in danger, you were protecting her…there is nothing wrong with that…but do not interfere again. This exchange is not to leave these walls, either. Do I make myself clear?"_

"The Grand Cleric took the baby away at that point, much against Meredith's cries." Elthina folded her wrinkled hands over each other on the table and Trina stared blankly at them in a state of shock. Never before had she ever sympathized with _either_ Meredith or Orsino, but even now, she felt sorry for the woman. Losing her family, losing her sister to magic, and finally her own baby? It was horrendous!

Aveline shook her head, trying to find a sense of ground in all of this, "You don't know what happened at that point?" She looked up hopefully at the woman while Trina simply listened. Her heart was pounding and a mixture

"I do not. I am not sure if the child was given to a family, an orphanage, or even if it was sent to a Circle. Either way, neither Meredith, Orsino, or I have ever seen the child since. Not to mention…none of us have ever spoken of what happened that night. Until now…"

"So, bringing up the child to either one of them. Probably a bad idea." Aveline rubbed her forehead and groaned. "Is this war even _about_ Mages and Templars? I'm not even sure anymore."

"It is, but it's the deep rooted past that's the issue, I'm sure neither has forgotten. Find the Champion, and take it from there…if she's with anyone, I would not be surprised if it was that child. Meredith and Orsino have one thing in common, they both respect Sarah Hawke with high regard and would not willingly hold her captive."

"Should we warn them? Could their child come after either of them?"

"I don't know…I do not know the best move, unfortunately. I also understand that you wish to do nothing to influence the future too much."

"We'd like to salvage what we can," Trina muttered. This was all too much for her, she didn't even know where to begin and her stress was well on the rise. "There are so many theories about time travel, like one where no matter what you do the past cannot be changed…so, it might be inevitable anyway, we're _going_ to find my ancestor and she _is_ going to stop the war…" She'd figure something out about Sarah's location and the location of that son, she had to, but perhaps it was best to _try_ and talk to Meredith. Talking to Meredith, dangerous as it was, would probably manage to be the thing she could use to open the woman up to helping them. Though she didn't feel strongly about the idea, considering Meredith likely had no idea where the kid was.

"I feel it goes without saying," Elthina reminded, "Time has changed those two in many ways. The bad blood and tension is still there, but to state the obvious, it is much worse and I fear many innocent lives are going to be lost because of this. Please, do your best to find Sarah Hawke, if anyone can help ease this situation without too much damage being dealt, it's her."

"Yeah…we're going to do our best…"

* * *

So a little background provides you with the root cause of the war, and the gap between Meredith and Orsino. Tell me your thoughts


	22. Of Snakes and Men

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 22 (Of Snakes and Men)

_"H-Help! Damn it, is anyone out there?"_ Sarah Hawke felt nothing, except that of extreme fear. She didn't recognize her surroundings as anything from what was called the fade, or 'dreams', and nothing could move. Only her mind was awake, someone, or something had kept bringing her mind in and out of consciousness. From what she could tell, she was in some kind of glass structure, her entire body was frozen from head to toe.

Small candles surrounded her glass coffin, lighting her in what was a dark room. Somehow, she was able to see through her eyelids. On the other side of the room was a man sitting in some chair, he had dark brown hair and bushy eyebrows. His ears were slightly pointed and his body was tall and thin. He had long, slender arms, and scars that covered his body. Was this her captor? No, her captor had been that woman.

Who was this man? What was his plan? She watched a sadistic grin stretch over his face. Blood dripped from his fingers and his deadly, snakelike eyes burned her body. "You'll slip back into unconscious in a few minutes, Hawke. I am the one who keeps bringing you out, but only your mind. I cannot awaken your body by conventional magic, only your mind." She didn't quite understand the purpose of this. Why bring her mind back if he had no reason for keeping her up? "I merely wanted to introduce myself to you. I know you see and hear me just fine. My name is Zander. You've been transferred to me by my apparent descendent, Erin. I must say, I am proud my line lasts for so long, aren't you? I believe Erin said she was from, 2013?" He tapped his temple with his slimy fingers and pulled his hand away, laughing heartily. "Five hundred a and sixty three years from now. Amazing."

_"This man is young, does he already have family? What are you saying, Hawke? My companions will find me, prick…"_ She tried in vain to move her body, struggling to mutter even the slightest whimper or growl. Her heart began to race as she watched the man rise up from his chair.

"My fiancé has taken my child and moved elsewhere." A slow cackle left his lips as he stepped before two portraits on a wall and spread his arms out. Sarah looked towards the portraits and felt her heart sink, she was eyeing portraits of Orsino and Meredith. She'd forgotten this was their child, did they know what was happening to her? "She said I was 'crazy', my 'obsessions' were without cause. You understand my plight, surely? You are without father, without mother. Left only with an uncle, am I correct?"

_"How does he know these things about me?"_ A surge of hatred coursed through her and sweat began pouring down her body. _"Goddamn it, let me out of here and fight me like a man!" _Zander's eyes drifted over and his arms lowered to his sides, he chuckled softly and shook his head.

"Erin told me your story. She also confirmed my thoughts as to who my parents were." He turned towards her, his expression tensed and his demeanor flared into a terrible anger. "She wishes me to hold you and let my parents destroy each other, or at the very least, destroy Kirkwall. I don't care for her plans, however, I do know you would be a thorn in my side regardless, so I cannot let you out." Her eyes widened, _could he hear her thoughts?_ He put his hands behind his back and began walking towards her. "My 'parents' dumped me. Tell me, Hawke, would you throw away your own kid?"

_"Never!"_

He smirked and moved a hand to the top of the case, leaving a bloody print on the glass. She felt her stomach tighten and tried to move her feet to kick through this case, but still it was to no avail. "That's what they did. They fucking threw me away!" He swept his hand through the air, raising his voice into a high scream. "They didn't want anything to do with me. I was told by the Grand Cleric that gave me to the people that raised me, that mother and father were _adamant_ that I was to never interfere with their lives again."

Zander cracked his fingers before his face and pulled his lips back into a vile snarl, "They didn't want me to interfere with their lives? Their plans? Too late. I wasn't sure it was these people, not until my descendent showed up…and now that I know, do you have an idea what I am going to do to those two?" A lump formed in Sarah's throat and she tried to shout out against him, to tell him he wouldn't be able to do a thing. It angered her greatly to be vulnerable the way she was, all she could do was wait on Aveline and the others to find her, if that was even possible. She didn't even know where in the hell she was!

_"Whatever you're planning…it will not work, I ensure you. Those two are crazier than you give them credit for."_

Zander stared down at her with clear recognition, much to her surprise, he _could_ hear her. The frown lines around his lips deepened and his eyes slanted further. He turned his back towards her and scoffed. "I suppose that explains quite a bit about me, doesn't it? I'm preparing my plans. You think I'm just going to storm Kirkwall and tear the place apart? No…I'm going to make this slow, painful, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of seeing those two screaming, _begging_ for their lives. Then?" He turned back to her, the crazed expression had returned to his face. He leaned above the case, staring into her eyes with his own wide, frightening glare. "Just as they threw me away, I'm going to throw them away! Piece by piece into the harbor! An arm, a leg, all the way to their heads. I'm going to tear off their eyelids so they can watch me toss them into the harbor."

Bile shot up her throat and she fought against the growing disgust and nausea within. She had to get out of here somehow! She had to warn Meredith and Orsino! How could anyone kill their own parent? She couldn't understand it. _"You're a sick fuck, I hope you know that."_ Zander leaned upright and lifted his hand, pressing his index finger and thumb together, speaking softly and with a distinct tone of arrogance.

"I'm aware. In all the excitement I almost forgot why I wanted to bring you into consciousness." She could feel herself starting to slip back into her deep slumber. Fear swept over her and tears welled up in her eyes. "Unfortunately it's only temporary, as I think I've mentioned. I was going to ask for secrets or tips, I suppose. I have no time though. I may as well save you the time slowly fading back out…"

_"No! Damn it! If you think Aveline, Isabela or Merrill won't find you, you're wrong. They'll all find you! They'll stop you!"_

"Then I wish them the best of luck." He snapped his fingers, and instantly her vision turned black. Her body twitched and grew numb as unconsciousness swept over her like a blanket of darkness. "They may not have a prayer, surely my parents would kill them first."

In Kirkwall, Trina stormed through the gallows with Sinjin, Tori, Robbie, and Cat. Jade was busy training with Aveline and Donnic. Andre and Beck were also busy, both in their own ways, but Trina had yet to ask them for any assistance. "There's no calming her this time?" Robbie asked nervously. Sinjin shook his head and Trina shrugged. Trina was fired up, seething with anger over Elthina's tale. She wanted to hate Meredith the way she had growing up, but she only felt pity. Meredith sold her soul to something that drove her insane, all because of Orsino.

Orsino was a snake, of this she was sure. Elthina's story spurred memories of her ex boyfriends and was the reason for her storming this place. She clenched her fists as she made her way into Templar Hall. Once up the stairs and through the door to the building, she glanced at two doors adjacent from one another. Meredith's office was to her right, and Orsino's to her left.

"I've been waiting far too long for answers…"

"Trina…" Sinjin put a hand to her shoulder and she snapped her glare to him, daring him, anyone, to challenge her. Tori stood behind him, gazing at her with a look of concern. "Trina, don't make this about _him_. This isn't about Michael, this is about your ancestor. Okay? Orsino may be a prick, but chances are he doesn't know what's going on here…"

Her lips thinned and she slowly turned away, "No promises, Sinjin." She pushed Orsino's door open, glaring at the grey haired snake sitting at the desk. He was wrapped up in a book of some sort. "Orsino!" The man's head shot up and his eyes widened for a second, then relaxed. A calm smile stretched over his face, the smile matched Michael's smile moments before he'd strike her. Her head pounded and anger stabbed her like hot knives into her heart.

"Champion. How can I help you? Have you come to reconsider siding with Meredith?"

"Of course you wouldn't want anyone on her side," she hissed. Orsino raised an eyebrow while Trina shut the door. She pointed towards the man and glared at the others. "Bind his fists, he is not to use them!"

"W-What?" Cat didn't hesitate to follow her order, having taken to kissing her ass recently like the rest of Tori's friends. Orsino was throw back against the wall, his wrists and ankles were bound by white light. He moved his chest forward, struggling in his binds. "What is this? Hawke, what is going on?"

"Just shut up for a second." His eyebrows shot up and Trina moved around his desk, poking her finger into his chest. "I'm here to deal with you. I don't intend any harm, but I don't trust you. Certain lives are at risk, and I blame you. I blame you for everything that's going on right now."

"What has Meredith complained to you about _this time?"_

"Oh nothing. Actually, I'm acting all on my own you abusive little asshole!" His jaw fell. Her anger shot up and clouded her. Trina's chest heaved and her muscles tightened. "You think you can push a girl around, treat her like shit, and get away with it? Well fuck you! It's over, leave Meredith alone. I see why she's been trying to expose you all these years, because you're a snake, vicious and poisonous! Her problem isn't even with mages, it's with _you!_ You're making it about the mages though, and you know it. You're purposely avoiding the truth, poisoning her into thinking all mages are at fault. You're dragging Kirkwall down with the both of you!"

"Seriously? I'm not against mages! Why would I _want_ Meredith thinking they're all shit?"

"Because you're shit!" All the things she was shouting at him, she wanted to shout at Michael. She wanted to shout at every man that ever hurt her. Sinjin had been right, she didn't want to make it about Michael, but she had. Sadly, Orsino had to bear the brunt of her assault. She couldn't control herself! "What is it with men like you? Think you can control a woman, so you beat her down to a vulnerable state. Killing her spirit…tearing apart her emotions and using her like some sort of ashtray. You're despicable, a pathetic excuse for a man."

She felt someone take her hand and quickly snapped her glare towards him. Her angry glare was flooded by Sinjin's calm and strong gaze, it warmed her and halted her fire. "Trina, it's okay…just take a deep breath…"

Trina closed her eyes and shook her head, she struggled but was able to put her personal vendetta aside. At least, for now. "Right, I…" She lifted a hand and Cat released Orsino. He dropped to his feet and rubbed his wrist, muttering under his breath. "I'm sorry about that, Orsino. Look, I just want to know about this son of yours…"

"Son? What son? I don't have a son." His eyes darted over to her, and a low growl left his lips. She rolled her eyes and looked over to Sinjin, resisting the urge to pummel Orsino on the spot. With a heavy, defeated sigh, she turned back to him.

"Save it. Elthina told me everything. I know what you did to Meredith and the baby over twenty years ago." His eyes widened and he began stammering, unable to comprehend that Elthina would willingly break the secret. "It's what Meredith has been trying to expose you for, isn't it Orsino?"

"I…I-look I'm a different man now." He chuckled nervously and moved to the window, gazing out and avoiding her gaze.

"How are you different?" Andre inquired. Trina raised an eyebrow and Andre moved towards the man. "You tried to kill a _baby_ and its _mother._ You would have had to want to change somewhere around there. I mean, come on. The only way you're going to be any different is if you wanted to change."

"Okay, okay…" He rubbed his forehead and turned back to the group, still unable to make eye contact with any of them. "I mean, I wasn't abusive or anything, I just-"

"You were greedy, selfish, and power-hungry. You didn't want it getting out that you had a kid with a Templar, but you did. There's no denying it happened, there is _no changing that fact._ What have you done to show Meredith you're attempting to change? If you are at all?"

"Oh please, she wouldn't listen to reason now anyway, her head is filled with venom." Orsino crossed his arms and tilted his head towards the right. "Just, don't let anyone know…if Kirkwall knew Meredith and I ever-"

"Then it sounds like you two are perfect for each other," Trina scoffed, with sarcasm lacing her tone. "I think they might find out eventually, Orsino. Secrets don't stay secrets forever, lies are always uncovered at some point of time. Whether it's yesterday, now, or ten years in the future…it happens. Now this whole mess between you and Meredith is dragging all of Kirkwall down. If you're still so willing to cover up a secret, then that means you haven't changed. You're still as much a snake as you were all the way back then."

"You don't know anything about me, Champion…"

"And you know nothing about me. So, I think we're even." She stepped before Orsino, glaring ferociously into his eyes. He was a weakened man, by her own assumption. Powerless against her. Did it feel good? No, but at least she knew he wouldn't dare to strike her. Not without severe repercussions. Remembering Lindsay's final words to Michael, she recited them as if they were spoken yesterday. "This is not a threat, but a promise. You're a dangerous man. So, stay the hell away from Meredith, or you'll encounter a very pissed off woman." She leaned back and narrowed her eyes. She had wanted information, but she felt it'd be better to attempt to get info on the son from Meredith. "By the way, I'm not Sarah Hawke."

"Wha-"

"I'm her descendent. A blood mage has her." Orsino's eyes widened and his hand moved over his heart. _"Your_ descendent sent her to her ancestor in this time. What that means is, if you or Meredith don't know anything about where Sarah is at, your son is the one who has her."

"I-I honestly don't know…" She could see a genuine honesty in his eyes, so there was no sense in questioning him further. She turned away and looked towards the door, sighing heavily as she started to debate what she could say to Meredith. Hopefully the woman's sanity wasn't so far gone that she wouldn't be of help.

"Oh, and Orsino?"

"What?"

"Remember my words, take them with warning. Not a warning against me or anyone I know personally, but…The past has a funny way of catching up with you. If you're not careful, you may find yourself face to face with the very son who the Grand Cleric ordered thrown away like he was nothing…against Meredith's favor…and I don't think you'd be very happy with what he may do, knowing that fact. Assuming he knows at all. Bear that in mind, because until we find him, who knows how safe it is for you or even Meredith…"

* * *

Well there is a lot of tension in this chapter, we see Zander for the first time and the mental torture that Hawke seems to be fighting through. Erin didn't plan very well at all, since all Zander wants to do is kill Orsino and Meredith. Orsino may need a new set of pants, but I think he got the picture. So let me know what your thoughts are on Zander and of Orsino.

I've also put out a oneshot that is linked to this story, "A Police Officer's Daughter", it shows a little more of Tori's, Trina's past and explains some depth for you that can't fit well into this story.


	23. Shared Pains

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 23 (A Shared Pain)

"What do you want?" Meredith scowled as the group entered the room. The tall, armor-clad blonde woman was standing over her desk. Her palms were flat on her desk, fingers tapping the surface. She had a red hood that covered her head, and deadly blue eyes that popped out from her face and drew attention away from the crow's feet and the dark circles surrounding them.

"Just wanted to get this off my chest," Trina began to feel pity on Meredith and for the first time in her life, felt she could truly side with the woman. Not saying that she thought mages needed to die or anything, she didn't believe that, just as Aveline said Sarah didn't truly feel that way either. Now, it was truly tempting to try and 'fix' the past, but she was not going to do such a thing. "I want you to know, I'm on your side where Orsino is concerned."

"That is…good? Were you just the one that stormed into his office and started yelling at him?" Meredith raised an eyebrow at her while the rest of the group flashed her knowing smirks. She folded her arms and lifted her shoulders.

"I am. Someone had to put him in his place after what he's done. He surely doesn't deserve to be First Enchanter, and I wonder just how the people of Kirkwall would react if they knew the things he's done? Would they have him unseated? Would they understand your suffering?"

"What in the hell are you going on about?"

She was hoping the woman was not entirely lost to the idol yet. While it was only a matter of time, if she could get through to her _now_ it was likely that she could find her own ancestor. She took a deep breath and slowly shut the door behind her. "Listen. I know the inevitable can't be prevented, and a war will inevitably break out, but that's not important right now. What is important is, I understand how you feel. I know what the snake in there did to you many years ago…It may sound a little like mages are your scapegoat, but either way…I understand."

Meredith straightened herself and crossed her arms, glaring dangerously into Trina's gaze. "How can you possibly-"

"Elthina confessed to me what she knew." Instantly a flash of pain and grief shot past Meredith's eyes. The woman lowered her arms, and her face scrunched for a split second. It looked as though she was about to fall to her knees, though she made no signal of that happening. It struck her in that moment, the amount of emotions this woman would feel just knowing her son was alive. How could she tell Meredith that her son had someone hostage? Much less, the 'mighty' Champion? What was she to tell a woman that has grieved for her son for over twenty years? "Forgive me for tearing old wounds…you wouldn't happen to have any idea where your son is now?"

"None." She folded her arms back over her chest and walked around the desk, slowly shaking her head. "The Grand Cleric before Elthina was the one that took him away and sent him…to god knows where. What does he matter to you? Also, who are these people with you, they do not seem like your normal companions." Trina looked towards the others and slowly nodded, pointing to each.

"My sister Tori, her friends Cat and Robbie, and Sinjin."

"Your sister? I thought your sister was Bethany, the mage in the circle." She cursed herself mentally and turned back to the woman, unsure how to comment "Anyway, I'm curious still as to why my son matters to you…if Elthina told you, then she broke her oath to Orsino, and I'm assuming she told you about him?"

"Yes, she did, and I understand. Men…They're your problem, trust me. Men are my problem too, just can't seem to find a good one anywhere, and if you do, it's a rarity." She looked to Sinjin with a subtle smirk, earning a smile back. "I guess though, you can't really let one ruin the whole lot for you, I know I'm guilty of doing such a thing."

"What do you mean?" She motioned the others out of the room and each moved to the hallway, with Sinjin giving her one last look in case she needed him in there. She motioned once more and he left. Trina sat on the edge of the desk next to Meredith and leaned back on her palms, sighing heavily as Meredith watched her with suspicious eyes.

"His name…was Michael…we met when I was just fourteen." Maybe this story, as painful as it was to remember, would be able to put some sort of common ground between her and Meredith. Maybe this would get the woman talking, to let down her own walls. "I…I thought he was a sure thing at the time. Charming, had a nice smile, and seemed to get along with all of our classmates. He was everything at that school, the one that everyone looked up to, and _I_ was the one who had a crush on him." Her heart tensed and her head bowed. Tears fought at her eyelids, and she shrugged them off. Meredith's hard expression softened for a second, and the woman sat beside her, staring out at the window in front of them. Sinjin knew of this story, but even still, she didn't want him to be listening to her telling Meredith of it. Not that they weren't listening in from the hallway, anyway. She just wanted a one on one talk with the woman, it would probably be more comfortable for the elder woman. "I was young and naïve, I'll tell you that."

"Why? Seems like he had everything going for him." Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed, clearly Meredith was taken to thinking back on Orsino. Whenever she was so taken with him.

"It is easy for anyone, man or woman, to conceal who they are at home. In the eyes of the public, they're so built up that they seem almost perfect. Michael? He wasn't perfect, he wasn't even _half_ the man alone than he was in the eyes of everyone else. A dream? Not quite…he was an abusive _asshole!"_ Meredith gasped slightly and Trina slammed a fist on her own leg, growling as rage and pain swept over her. "If I looked away, he hit me…if I didn't tell him where I was or where I was going, he'd get upset. He had to know everything, had to be _right_, it was just…" Her hand moved to her forehead and a sob left her lips. Meredith hesitated for a second, then moved her hand over to Trina's arm. Try as she might, she was unable to get the rest of her story out, it was too painful for her to bear. "I just…I'm sorry, Meredith…"

"It's okay. If you must know, yes, Orsino and I…had a relationship. If you could call it that."

"I called it a relationship with Michael, because it was." She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her thumb. Her body was trembling, and flashes of her abuser ran rampant in her mind. She took a deep breath to calm herself, but it was almost useless at best. "One of my best friends pulled me out of there…Lindsay. Elthina…Elthina was that friend for you, wasn't she?"

"Yes. I suppose so. She's the one that kept him at bay all these years too. I mean, he's tried to confront me, but never done anything. I suppose he just doesn't want to risk a war-" Meredith shook her head and closed her eyes, her face tensed and a groan fell from her lips. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I want you to know that it's okay to talk, if you need to talk. Lives are at risk as well, but I'm not trying to stop you…I think, however, the reason you hate mages so much is because of _him_. You had a baby that you loved so much, you protected it when Orsino wanted it dead, but even then, the Grand Cleric before Elthina took it away from you…Mages didn't hurt you, and men…didn't hurt me."

"Meaning?"

"Orsino is at fault for what he did, it wasn't your fault or anyone else. Everyone had a role to play. Michael hurt me, he's at fault for what he did, not all men are at fault."

"I loved the baby, and I _thought_ I loved Orsino too. What about you, did you ever move past that Michael kid? Did you find love again, or is that even possible?" Trina folded her arms across her chest and sighed. Sinjin came to her mind, but with him, fear.

"There is one man that I love, I'll admit, with all my heart. I want to be with him, but relationships…"

"What are you afraid of? Do you think he'd harm you?"

"No. I know he would never hurt me. I'm not afraid of him…I've had so many relationships screw up that, well, _I'm_ messed up. I think it's me, that's the problem. I'm afraid, emotionally and mentally, I would screw something up. I think I'm damaged, that's the problem…"

"I see…" Meredith stood from the desk and moved to the window, leaning against the wall and gazing out with a misty-eyed gaze. "I hid the pregnancy well, being a Templar, the armor was large enough to cover the baby bump I had back then. Some knew of the pregnancy, none knew who the father was. After what Orsino did to me…I couldn't move on. Like you, I was afraid to trust anyone. Even today, I wonder if I'm still damaged, if anyone would want to be around someone like me. I try to perish the thoughts, to not contemplate what I know to be hopeless. You're still young, and there are many men out there that would probably love you, and this man you tell me about…does he know?" She looked over and Trina fought a smile.

"Yes he does, and I know…I can see when he looks at me, he loves me too. Genuinely. I just don't want to be so emotionally screwed up, that I hurt him somehow."

"Why are you so afraid? If it was just one man that hurt you…"

"It was more than that." She pushed herself up and walked to the window, glaring outside. "My sister's friends would tell me how nobody cared for me, seemingly confirming how I felt mentally and emotionally about myself. Even my best friends got tired of my 'pity' after a while and had to leave, so her friends would constantly tell me how I didn't have friends and none of the friends I had cared about me, _including_ Lindsay."

"Don't believe them." Meredith scoffed, smirking slightly. Trina's eyebrows rose as Meredith pushed herself off the wall. "You said Lindsay's the one that helped you get away from Michael…in which case…she must have cared about you. If she didn't, she wouldn't have done anything for you then."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right…" She caught Meredith studying her, eyeing her closely. After a minute, the woman straightened herself and started to frown.

"You're not her, are you. Sarah Hawke. You look a tiny bit different…I've never heard her speak anything of her past, either."

"True. I'm not her, if I told you my connection to her…I'm not so sure you'd believe me, but I am related. She's in danger right now, I'm trying to rescue her…" Meredith opened her mouth in shock, but said nothing. She seemed genuinely concerned, a sign to Trina that there was _some_ of Meredith's soul left inside. The lyrium idol had not destroyed her completely, yet.

"What happened? Do you know? Also…what does my son have to do with any of this?"

"Well…" Now came the hard part, she didn't feel comfortable bringing this up to the woman, as necessary as it was. Meredith appeared to brace herself, as if expecting upsetting news. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, running the possible ways of breaking the news through her mind, followed by conclusions. This woman wasn't going to want to hear her own son might be plotting to harm someone, no mother wanted to hear something so terrible! "A woman…using blood magic…" She spoke slowly, opening her eyes and studying Meredith's face. Meredith put on a serious expression and slowly nodded, possibly expecting the worst to come.

"Blood mages…"

"Yeah, well…this woman came through a portal she created, claimed to be a descendent of yours and Orsino's-"

"A descendent? But ho-" Meredith paused as the color drained from her face. Her trembling hand moved to cover her mouth, and her eyes filled with tears. "N-No, it can't be my son's…no, how could a descendent…"

"Advanced magic from the future, used to open some sort of time portal."

"Time magic?" She lowered her hand and raised an eyebrow at Trina. "Orsino spoke of it years ago, but as something only suggested. He's always wondered about it, but I never thought-"

"It is possible, if he researched, that his notes were passed down from generation. Or at the very least, your son is the one researching. I spoke with Orsino, he didn't seem to know where the boy is at…and I suspect you don't either?"

"No, I don't know anything. You think a descendent took the Champion?"

"Yes. I know it's hard to talk about, and the reason I bring it up is because this descendent said they sent Sarah's body, paralyzed, to her ancestor."

"So it only makes sense…You'd ask Orsino or myself…"

"Right, and since neither of you know anything of what happened, that means your son is probably out there. I know no mother wants to think her child is capable of doing wrong, but if it's even a remote possibility, then we need to find your son. Would you…be willing to help? I mean, if anything, you'd see your son again."

"I don't know…" Meredith rubbed her chin and narrowed her eyes, flinching as if something were troubling her. Perhaps it was the thought that her child, or descendents, were mages? Perhaps she was conflicted in regards to finding her son? "It would be amazing to see my own son again, but if what you say is true and he has taken the Champion hostage…I don't know…"

"Well, at the very least, if you have _some_ idea where she might be…we would appreciate the help."

"Right. Then, I'll be there…I will try to hold off, if at all possible, on certain issues. I respect Sarah's advice and do not like to act before seeking her and Elthina out."

"Great! So, I'll be in touch then. Also, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to let me know. My name is Trina, by the way."

"All right. I will be in touch." The two shook hands, then Trina made her way out of the room. She looked to Sinjin, Tori, and the others and gave them a tiny smile when she saw their contemplation. Sinjin looked gravely concerned, he reached out for her hand and she gently placed hers in his.

"Are you all right? Do you want to talk later?" She felt a surge of love warming her heart as she listened to the compassion in his voice, followed only by the same crippling fear of her own emotions.

"I'm fine," she replied while still holding onto her smile, despite the pain she felt in trying to resist opening herself up completely to him. There was hardly time, anyhow. She drew in a breath and pulled her hand away, motioning for them to follow as she walked down the corridor. "Seems Meredith doesn't know what's going on with this son of hers, but she's willing to help look for Sarah. She's going to hold off on governance as much as she can until we can find her…let's just hope Orsino can keep his ass quiet and not start any riots while we're looking."

"Might be too much to hope for," Tori muttered. Andre agreed and Robbie shrugged his shoulders. They were right, Trina knew it was too much to ask that Orsino _not_ stir the city mages and dwellers into action, but it was all they could hope for in this moment. More important things were at stake.

* * *

Trina has managed to reach Meredith in the part that hasn't been infected by all the anger, rage, and depressions. There won't be much change in the future for it, but at the very least it is something. What are your thoughts?


	24. Better Understandings

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: Don't let it fool you, Trina is in _no way possibly_ related to Meredith. Sarah is the ancestor. Remember there's 500 years difference, all the generations. Not everyone is going to have 100% same circumstances or personalities in life. It is just pure coincidence that Meredith and Trina even had similar experiences, but yet not even that. They both understand each other through having had at least one abusive ex. Without further ado, I give you this chapter, enjoy

* * *

Chapter 24 (A Better Understanding)

Sinjin blasted away at the frightening mass of creatures in the caverns outside Kirkwall, he wasn't able to truly get used to the white energy that came from his hands or the staff he had with him, but he was working on it. Like Trina, he had a tendency to wander out on his own without one of the ancestors, but he had a good reason for doing so. He was following a lead.

He'd gone to the chantry recently to speak with Elthina and was able to discuss the prior Grand Cleric. What was said was that the woman was asked to step down not long after the whole fiasco with Meredith and Orsino, in which Elthina was chosen to be the next. 'Someone' had reported anonymously what the woman had done years before, so she'd been disgraced.

How this led him to fighting a bunch of demons in a cave, he wasn't sure. The Chantry records book said that this woman had been exiled to a cavern, which made little since. Did he question it? Sure, but what would be the point?

Sinjin shifted his gaze towards the right and narrowed his eyes at yet another tar-like creature rising from the earth. "These things are endless," he panted. He turned towards it, putting a strong leg forward as he twirled his staff around his arm and pointed it towards the creature. A massive lightning attack shot from the staff and struck the creature. Upon contact, the demon let out a ear piercing howl and collapsed into a black puddle. "Suck on that one, pal."

Just as his confidence was on the rise, he heard a sudden crash that paralyzed him. He breath locked in his throat while he mentally counted each thundering footstep behind him. The earth seemed to tremble at his feet, causing him to feel as though he were stumbling about. When he turned around, it was then he saw a giant, grayish-blue demon with scales covering its entire body. It had a head like a dragon, with long horns and a terrifying snarl, but was built like a giant bear standing on its hind legs.

His eyes widened when the demon's arm came crashing into him, sending him flying into a nearby wall. He let out a loud shout and tried to push himself up, but upon doing so, a burning sensation ran down his left arm.

The demon began to stomp its feet, slowly making its way towards him. His vision was blurry, which could only mean he lost his contacts. All Sinjin could see in front of him now was this large purple blur coming at him at a high speed. _"Shit! I screwed up! Have to make it out of here somehow…"_ He hurried his hand to his arm, using the healing power he learned to quell the pain and fix whatever issue there might be.

Just as the feeling in the arm was coming back to him, a sudden force lifted him off the ground and he found himself face to face with the giant. The creature let out a massive roar, instilling a powerful fear inside him. He was not too out of it, though, but he certainly wasn't coming out here by himself again if he could actually get out of here.

"Sorry pal…" He carefully moved his hand up, placing his fingers firmly on the creature's neck. Pain shot through his body as the creature started to crush him in its hand. He let out a strained groan and struggled to push whatever magic he could out of him. "Trina's counting on me, asswipe…I'm not letting her down by getting myself killed…" With a sudden burst of power, a massive blast of lightning shot from him and injected itself into the demon. He fell towards the ground and snapped his fingers, forming an armor of rock around his body. He began to stand, breathing heavily as he glanced to the demon holding its face and roaring out in pain. "I learned my lesson, I guess…don't come out here alone…Jesus."

The demon glared at him, its eyes glowing red, which to Sinjin, simply looked like a purple smudge with red headlights. There were clearly more pressing matters at the moment than what he was going to do without his eyesight, but it was still aggravating that he didn't think to bring a pair of glasses with him. There was no way he could accurately fight a demon when he was so blinded! "If this thing doesn't kill me…Trina will…"

"Not a chance." He raised an eyebrow at the sound of Andre's voice and looked towards the right to see three blurry figures rushing up behind the demon. Andre and Isabela leapt up onto the demon's back and began stabbing it furiously with their daggers, while the third figure cloaked in grayish robes, stepped before him as if guarding him. Anders.

He was frozen with shock, too stunned to believe what he was seeing. The demon, overwhelmed, was collapsing to the ground while Andre and Isabela continued to pummel it with their knives. Even Anders was overpowering it, striking it with powerful blasts of light magic. "What part of don't go off alone don't you get?!" Anders scolded.

Isabela hopped off the demon's body and walked over, smacking her hands together. "Yeah, what were you thinking? Be glad Andre saw you walking around on your own and that Anders was nearby."

"So you guys followed me?" He was grateful for their arrival, but did feel a bit shamed by the events that transpired. A deep anger planted itself inside him, but truly he was only angry at himself for having to be in this situation. "I can't see anything, I've gone blind. Everything is a blur. I can't be of any help now…"

"You're a mage, blindness shouldn't be an issue for you. " Anders spoke slowly and clearly, while Andre and Isabela grew concerned. Sinjin was confused, he would not have figured himself to be able to counteract this in any way. "The vision will return to normal soon enough."

"It isn't that simple," Andre commented, "He has to wear glasses or contact lenses." The two ancestors shook their heads and Andre walked over to him, patting his shoulder. "In our time, blindness is a definite medical issue. We have these things that can help those with vision problems see better. Glasses or contact lenses. He was wearing contacts, I guess he forgot to bring his glasses."

"So he literally can't see. Okay." He glanced up, barely able to make out the blurred facial detail of his ancestor. The man looked almost like a ghoul, with dark blurry eyes. "Well first off, as a mage, the constant flow of magic should be able to correct that. If not just temporarily. For now, let me see what I can do."

"Oh you're an eye doctor now?" He smirked, skeptical of Anders's ability to even remotely correct his vision.

"I'm not asking you to trust me, just shut up and let me get to work." He raised an eyebrow and felt Anders's fingertips at the sides of his head. "May not be permanent, but at the very least I'm going to try and see if I can do something. I mean, you're not completely blind are you? If you are, that's another thing altogether."

"Not completely blind, no."

"Okay good, I can work with that." He felt a sudden rush of cold surround his head like a cloud of ice. It gradually began to warm and sink into him, prickling his corneas like a dozen tiny needles stabbing into his eyes. Strangely, it was more of a tickling feeling than a painful one. As this feeling continued for a few seconds, the people around him began to clear up. Astonished and in a state of shock, he was able to make images out with more clarity than even when he wore contacts!

"Holy shit…I can see you people!" He took a step back, staring at the trio with uncertainty, nearly falling over. Andre merely shrugged and turned away from him.

"That's the closest thing to a 'thank you' you're going to get from him. Trust me, he hates us as much as Trina does."

"I _am_ grateful." He rolled his eyes and stepped forward, slowly getting used to actually being able to see again. "I'm just a bit surprised to see _you_ here. Following me, no less."

"Well it's not like I'd want something happening to the one guy that Trina actually gives a damn about." Andre spun back around and narrowed his eyes, "When are you going to stop suspecting us all of bad things? We're actually trying. I followed because I didn't think you'd bother telling _me_ what you were up to, much less even let me join you. You're not the only one trying to help Trina and Tori, you know."

"I think I have pretty good reasons for disliking you people, and more so than you guys doing shit to Trina." It had more to do with their actions at the school, and he'd already told them of their vanity issues in the past. Such as, being popular but yet not being 'popular enough'. "That's not important right now, and I don't feel like going into it. You want to know what I'm doing, I'll tell you. I think I found a lead."

"Okay, what did you find?" Isabela and Anders were immediately interested, both had been slightly distracted for a second, uninterested in the bickering between Andre and Sinjin.

Sinjin looked towards the fallen demons and began to walk beyond them, motioning for the others to follow. "There's probably a door around her somewhere. Chantry records indicated the last Grand Cleric was exiled to this cave for some reason." He still didn't know why, but it appeared those demons were guarding something. "The last Grand Cleric was not only exiled, she was kicked out of the chantry for good. She knows something, and I intend to find out. If s has any ideas on where that son could be, we're that much closer to finding Sarah."

"While that's great news, don't go getting yourself killed man." Andre stepped up beside him, giving him a disapproving look. "You know Trina wouldn't be happy about that. The girl cares about you, you know."

"I am well aware. I am just not accustomed to having a horde of demons come at me out of nowhere, that's all!"

"Yeah, well, this _is_ a different time…"

"Right." He would be more careful about working with these people, he wasn't going to put himself in this situation again. Even if it took swallowing all his pride, he would work with them rather than be alone. For Trina's sake. Still suspicious, he looked to Andre and crossed his arms. "So tell me, what's your deal? Are you just following Beck because he's following Jade, or what?" It was clear to him that Jade _was_ trying, but the others, he wasn't sure. He was skeptical of their motives, and felt he had every right to be.

"No. I really am sorry for treating Trina badly, I just got caught up in everything. I guess, I don't know. I have to start treating her better, not just because I want to, but because…" Andre moved his hands behind his back and let out a sigh. His eyes closed and his shoulders rose. "I like Tori, okay? I know that's not going to happen unless I treat her family with respect, and I mean it when I say I'm sorry for my involvement in everything done against Trina. None of us thought about how seriously things would affect her, and now that we all see it, we know we screwed up."

"Right…" They turned a corner and continued walking down what seemed to be a strangely lit corridor Far in the distance, he thought he saw a door, but it could likely just be a dead end. He lowered his arms and sharpened his glaze. "Andre, I'm going to be honest, and this is _only_ my _opinion_. Feel free to disagree, even show me that I'm wrong. I don't believe you deserve a relationship with Tori. Why? Because I don't see you as having the respect you need to be involved in a family like that." Andre frowned and bowed his head. Sinjin didn't feel too cruel in saying what was on his mind, he wasn't going to hold back his opinion, else he'd risk not being 'real'.

"I know, I just…I don't know man."

"I am only working as a teacher's assistant for Sikowitz, something you probably aren't aware of…" Andre looked up, somewhat startled by the admission. He chuckled briskly and shook his head.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, what's a twenty year old guy still doing in high school when he's obviously smarter than that…"

"Well, that being said. I have ample time to observe people, something that will probably help when I'm actually a teacher. It seems to me you and Robbie are about even in the amount of respect you have towards the girls at the school. Trina and I actually wonder about how much pressure you'd put on Tori if you two were together."

"I admit I'm not perfect, but I _do_ care about Tori. So maybe I'm a bit of a show off when it comes to women, but I would never harm Tori in any way. I know that being said, I should probably have defended her sister more, if that would have helped anything."

"I think so. Seems to me Trina and Tori have always valued family to the highest regard. I would never disrespect Trina's sister in _any_ way, and if someone disrespected Tori, and Trina was not around, I would defend her. You should do the same because you care about Tori, it would definitely show her that you care about her family. It might also give Trina a little bit of confidence in the possibility of you ever dating her sister. The fact is, _we_ don't see you respecting Tori, clearly not her father since you so readily lied to him on a few occasions…so Trina would be concerned, if you were to bring up the possibility of you and Tori being an item, if you would be the type of boyfriend to try and keep Tori from her family."

Andre gasped and his eyes grew large, "What? Never!" The man didn't try and defend himself to Sinjin, seeing as how he understood how that assumption could be made. "I get it, but I can tell you I would never do that to her. Besides…it isn't like Tori would date me anyway."

"Why not?"

"She wants to see me respect her sister first…"

"Well…you're on the right track, then. Just take it a step at a time, maybe the girls will start to see you making an effort." The one thing none of this group probably realized was that he and Tori were somewhat friends too. They had to be, since he was often around Trina. There were many times he'd be over helping Trina with homework, or just hanging out, and Tori would be home. Their friendship was mostly in passing, but there were times when he and Trina would sit down and watch a movie with Tori. He'd be a pretty good judge of character for someone in Andre's position. "Just treat Tori right and Trina will see that. Treat Trina with some respect and dignity, then she won't question you being around her little sister. It's not that hard. If you've ever seen that family on a typical Saturday morning, they're a pretty normal and typical family. Those girls grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons and playing in the yard, now they still sit around and watch movies or do homework when they're not doing something with their friends, or well…you guys."

"Yeah, average huh…" Sinjin couldn't recall a single time he saw any one of Tori's friends there on their own, aside from possibly Jade. The rest were always there as a group, which wasn't _bad_, but it didn't really give them a whole lot of chance to be around the girls on a typical day when nothing was going on.

"You go over there on a typical Saturday morning, and you know what you're going to find?" Andre looked up at him eagerly, smiling slightly as Sinjin smirked. "They'll be sitting around the couch watching old Pokemon reruns on television, or even movies. Those two girls are super fans of Pokemon _and_ that old Digimon series, they literally have all the movies stashed away. You'll find them with a plate of pancakes or waffles, or even eggs, whatever their father's cooking that morning. Tori always has a glass of milk, and Trina _always_ has orange juice. Pulp free. Sometimes they'll put in some discs with their favorite 90s shows in and watch that in the mornings, it'll be_ Recess, Pepper Ann_, the animated _Sabrina the Teenage Witch_, and so on. They're big on nostalgia. Trina will usually wrap herself up in her blanket, which is basically a black comforter with stars like the stars you see in the sky. Tori usually has a pink comforter that she's got herself wrapped up in."

"Pokémon, huh?" Andre meshed his eyebrows together and pushed his hands into his pockets, sighing heavily. "I never knew they were like that. It _is_ a different idea than what I think most of us thought they'd be like on a typical day…Simple, average, it's…" The boy started to smile as a new admiration sparked in his eyes. "I kind of like that image. They don't fight all the time?"

"Oh they have their moments, believe me. But once sisters, always sisters. They _never_ argue when it comes to stuff like Pokémon, believe me." He chuckled and Andre moved his hand to the back of his head. It might have come as a shock that the girls would have ever been into something like that, but it _was_ something they grew up on and they never joked about nostalgia. "My firmest advice that I can give: Get to know them on a typical day, get to know them for more than what you see on the surface, and you'll be in good shape."

"Y-Yeah I can definitely see that."

"Good. All that I just told you? That's only on Saturday morning, there's a lot more to them that I'm _pretty sure_ none of you guys have ever seen. There is a lot of warmth in that family, a lot of love to go around, especially after that nasty divorce. They do a lot to make sure their dad's doing all right."

"I bet. Do they get out of the house much?"

"Oh all the time! Sunday is their 'family day', Andre. I've been with them on the weekends when they might go to the movies with their dad, or even the zoo."

"So they still do stuff…as a family? I like that. I really do." Sinjin was proud of Andre, he could see a new respect in the guy and he was hoping that it would remain as such. For Andre to hear what the girls were like and to actually warm up to the idea, it bode well. He truly hoped for the best when it came to Andre, considering how much he said he liked Tori.

"Yeah, well anyway…" They came up to the door at the end of the tunnel and stopped before it, "I'm guessing the former Grand Cleric's behind this door. Before we go in, I want to reach an understanding with you, Andre. I think I can respect you a little bit more, not sure, I'll have to see."

"Understandable. I mean, you seem to get the Vega's a little better than we do. So it makes sense you'd be suspicious of us…"

"Well. I'll start being more open to working with you guys and _not_ going out on my own and getting myself killed by a bunch of strange…creatures…in return, I'd appreciate seeing you put more effort in getting to know _all_ of that family."

"Agreed." Andre wasted no time in accepting the terms, which filled Sinjin with some confidence. Maybe this guy could be trusted, he would have to see.

Remembering Anders and Isabela, he looked over his shoulders at the two ancestors. They seemed lost in their own thoughts, probably having been disconnected from the conversation due to their lack of knowledge on _anything_ the two were just talking about. "Are we done here?" Isabela asked impatiently, "I would very much like to get out of this cave sooner than later." She put her hand to her hip and leaned towards the right, narrowing her eyes on the door in front.

Sinjin nodded and turned to the metal door with a stone handle, "Yeah, let's just see what's behind this door." He was a tad anxious about what he might find waiting for them, but still he had high hopes that they'd have fresh information to get back to Trina and Aveline.

* * *

So Sinjin and Andre had a pretty good talk. Aside from the obvious, what are your thoughts and observations?


	25. Moving Forward

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 25 (Moving Forward)

"Still despise these things," Aveline muttered while holding onto Jade's cell phone. Donnic was standing beside her, rubbing his chin as he studied the gadget. Jade couldn't help but to laugh, this gave a whole new meaning to the typical teaching grandparents of technology. At least grandparents in her time had _some _inclination of what technology was. "Look at this, Donnic! The phone makes random noises when you hit one of these buttons…"

Sitting on the couch in their house, Jade held her attention on a book she was reading. It was hard to pay attention to the book when she was listening to them fumble over her telephone, but at the very least, it was amusing. She was reading one of the first editions of a book written in this time called _The Master of Game_ by Edward of Norwich, the 2nd Duke of York, circa 1406 and 1413. It was a book on _hunting_. Granted this manuscript was written centuries before it was translated into modern English in the 1900s, it still had some pictures that Jade understood rather well. Usually if she had questions, she'd just ask Aveline or Donnic if they could translate for her. _Some_ books they had, she could obviously read and understand. The issue with this was, she was trying to learn to read and translate this old English, and she was starting to understand as Aveline and Donnic were teaching her.

_The Master of Game_ is easily the oldest English-language book on hunting, and is an essay on Medieval hunting. She recalled its mention in history class one day when she heard Theodore Roosevelt rather enjoyed this book. Perhaps no one would believe her if she ever said she read the original manuscripts! It was exciting.

Donnic walked over and sat beside her, chuckling as her eyes scanned the page. "You'd think you would be more lethargic without use of all your modern day stuff." She tore her gaze form the page and shrugged her shoulders. Sure she missed having a television or her laptop, but it was not a big deal to her, she was fascinated enough by all that surrounded her. Like Sinjin, and even Trina, she enjoyed the history.

"I can live without, for a little bit. I've never been much of a reader, though. I'll admit to that. Though, it seems there's not much else to do."

It _was_ an off day for them, and it felt different not having to patrol the city streets in the heavy guard armor. She'd taken to wearing the old style clothing they had, which was nowhere as itchy as she thought the clothing would be. She was wearing a long medieval dress with short sleeves, something she _never_ thought she'd wear in a million years.

She'd taught Aveline and Donnic to take a picture with the phone and had them photograph her in the dress. They accidentally hit a button that sent the picture to Tori and her friends, and since the enchanting of the phones was so successful, they each wrote back with short teases. All except Andre and Sinjin, she had to wonder what those two were up to.

"Haven't seen much of that boy lately," Donnic spoke of Beck and crossed his arms. The man hadn't been happy to hear what Aveline essentially walked in on, more so because it _was_ his descendent, and Jade admitted that her father had no idea it was going on. "What's going on with him, anything?"

"Um…" She moved her eyes back to the book, her lips dipped down and her heart started to sink. "We're taking a break." They spoke about their relationship when the others went to talk with Orsino and Meredith. She didn't want to be with someone that just wanted sex, and he needed to understand that. He also needed to understand that she wanted to be on Trina's good side and wanted him to respect that, but she didn't think it would be good to do so while he had done something so egregious to her as he had in that video. She needed some time to think about their relationship, because she was trying to change. Could she change and still be with him? Would he respect her changes? She didn't know, but she needed to work on herself before she could focus on a serious relationship, and he needed to work on himself. _That_ was what was to be clear. "I'm trying to make an effort to change, and I need some space, some time…to make the changes in myself that I need to. I can't do that and focus on a relationship with someone else that also has a lot of work to do on himself."

Donnic gave her a reassuring smile and pat her shoulder, "Give it time. I think you're right to give it some space to work on yourself. Maybe he'll work on whatever issues he has, and who knows, maybe in the future if things work out…Just, remember, you're not Isabela's descendent." She laughed lightly and shook her head, well aware what he meant by the statement. It was no secret that Isabela was a very sexual person. Even now the ancestors would joke with Isabela about whether or not she was pregnant yet, considering the fact that she does have a descendent. Isabela would often joke back that she probably had more descendents than any of them.

"Granddad, I am _not_ a sexual natured person. I'm still a virgin…for the record. I don't think Beck's the person I want to give myself too, either, at least not right now. I want to wait until marriage."

"That is admirable. Also…can you call me something other than 'granddad', 'grandpa', or any of the forms of 'grand'? I'm not that old!" She laughed and reached over, hugging Donnic. There was no chance in hell she was calling him anything else, she didn't know what else there was _to_ call him.

Suddenly her cell phone chimed and Aveline jumped up, letting out a loud shriek. "I swear to god I am going to shatter this damn thing!" Jade quickly shot up and grabbed the phone, shooting Aveline and apologetic look. Aveline put her hands to her hips and glared at the device. "So which one of them is sending a…um…letter? Call?"

"It's a text message," She replied, glancing at the phone. It a message from Andre. She opened the text and lifted her eyebrows. Andre and Sinjin were in a cave not far out of Kirkwall with Isabela and Anders. "Andre and Sinjin found something out, but they're in the middle of a fight!"

"What?!"

"They're in a cave outside Kirkwall with Isabela and Anders, they were seeking out the last Grand Cleric. They found out who the woman gave the child to, but then the woman transformed into some sort of abomination…Isabela's unconscious and apparently Anders is struggling."

"Shit. Can he tell you the location of the cave?" Already a step ahead, she started to send a message back. As soon as she was about to hit send, Andre was calling. She flipped her hair back and put the phone to her ear.

"Andre what's going on?" Sounds of stone shattering on walls pierced her eardrums. Something was screeching in the background and Anders was yelling while Sinjin was asking what Andre was doing. "Where are you? Where's the cave?"

"Shouldn't be far from you guys! It's literally the first open cave outside Hightown. This crazy woman just transformed into a fucking monster! I'm beginning to see why she was kicked out of the Chantry. Can you get some help? Quickly?"

"Hightown?" Jade looked to Aveline, snapping her fingers in thought. "Where are Trina and Tori? They're not in Hightown today are they?" They were currently in Hightown, but Jade was asking for who they could call for backup.

"No," Aveline replied, "Sebastian said he was taking them over to Ferelden where Sarah grew up in. He was curious if there were any clues there. I believe Merrill said she was going to be in Hightown today to do some shopping at the Hightown markets. I _know_ Fenris is outside Hightown right now, he's been taking Beck around those caves on a daily basis for training."

"Right…So we'll signal Beck to help real quick until we can get there, hopefully we can reach Cat and signal her and Merrill to start heading over. It sounds like they're facing some kind of giant monster…"

"Whatever you do, hurry it up!" Andre pleaded. He let out a scream as something struck the rock above him. "We're fighting a losing battle here."

"On our way."

It wasn't long before they managed to make it, just shortly after Cat and Merrill. Beck and Fenris had clearly arrived first. When Jade and Aveline made it, they were startled to see everyone fighting what appeared to be a twenty foot stone golem. Anders was sitting against a wall, grimacing as he held on to his right arm. He was still able to use his right hand to fire off some shots of electricity. His left hand had a white glow around it, slowly healing his wounds. Isabela lay beside him, unconscious. Andre was running around the golem's legs, slashing with his blades. Fenris and Beck were continually leaping up and slashing at the creature, slowly eroding it. Cat and Merrill were striking the demon with many different elemental blasts as well, so clearly the tide was starting to turn.

Jade drew her sword and watched the golem's fist fly towards Beck and Fenris. The two men jumped out of the way and slashed their swords at the wrist, managing to slice through it. "We need to separate the head," Jade muttered instinctively. "That has to be it." She searched the cave for Sinjin, curious as to where he was. Likely Trina wouldn't be thrilled if something happened to her. "Grandma Ave, do you see Sinjin anywhere."

"Yes. He's up there!" Aveline pointed to the demon's shoulder and Jade's eyes widened. Sinjin had managed to get on the very top of the golem, without it realizing.

"Shit! Sinjin, get down from there! I do _not_ want to have to be the one to tell Trina you got yourself killed!" Sinjin shrugged it off and focused his hands at the demon's neck, his palms facing outwards. The golem stopped it's movements and slowly turned its head towards Sinjin. "Shit! Get down from there!"

She ran for the golem, brandishing her sword in the air. In the corner of her eyes, she saw a strange white light shoot out from Cat and Merrill, the same beam left Anders's hand and struck the golem. Sinjin mimicked this, and altogether, a white aura surrounded the golem. Jade froze in place and watched as the Golem began to tremble. The warriors bolted out of the way as large amounts of rubble and stone began to fall from it.

The mages closed their hands and instantly pulled their arms back. With that, the golem separated into hundreds of rocks. Sinjin quickly began his descent, hopping from stone to stone until he made it to the ground.

Jade was relieved to see them all safe, and watched with great concern as the rocks crashed down onto the ground. Everyone surrounded Anders and Isabela, Aveline immediately wanted to know what the situation was like. Sinjin spoke first.

"We came to see if the former Grand Cleric had any ideas where the son might be, she was living here for some reason and guarded by a bunch of darkspawn. Turns out, she was a demon herself…_not_ pleasant. It's a good thing you guys showed up when you did…Good to know you people have my back…"

"Of course we do," Jade remarked, "What did you think we all followed you guys in for? What did you find out? Are we any closer to finding Sarah?"

"We may be." He crossed his arms and turned down his chin in contemplation. "Has anyone here ever been to Orlais? There was a couple that lived there twenty something years ago named Guillaume and Dulci de Launcet. The Grand Cleric dropped the child off with them."

Aveline's jaw dropped and Merrill put her hand to her forehead, "They don't live in Orlais anymore," Merrill muttered. "The De Launcet family lives here in Kirkwall, but the only son they had was Emile de Launcet."

"A rather sad and pathetic case," Isabela was finally waking. She had her hand on her head and was groaning as Anders attempted to heal her wounds. "We found him getting drunk over at the Hanged Man, his stupidity is more dangerous than he was. He was one of the three mages that were reported to Meredith as being labeled 'dangerous', but he didn't practice blood magic or anything like that. We persuaded him to just go back to the circle, he claimed he only spread rumors about blood magic to look _tough_. There's no possible way he could be related to Meredith or Orsino, for that matter."

"Are you _sure_ about that?" Beck asked. "How can you know?"

"He looks nothing like Orsino or Meredith," Aveline answered. "He has red hair like his mother and father, looks exactly like Guillaume, and is incredibly moronic. Not to mention, Orsino and Meredith would have recognized him the minute he returned to the circle…Meredith probably, a mother knows her child."

"Not to mention, he's only about eighteen," Fenris folded his arms and lifted his shoulders, "Nowhere near old enough to have been the same child we heard about. However, if that family is the one that the last Grand Cleric gave the baby to, we need to question them. It's possible he left home at some point of time."

"Worth looking around. A great job on the lead…Isabela, can you move?"

Isabela sat up, groaning as she did so, "I can try." It wouldn't be long before she was healed anyhow, Anders seemed to be pretty good in healing magic. Isabela let out a grunt and exhaled slowly, "Just when you thought you were done with the de Launcet family…"

After everyone's wounds were healed, the group started to leave the cave. This was going to be a hellish story for Trina and Tori, but it would be important to let them know exactly what's been going on. Beck pulled Jade to the side, walking with her alongside the others. "What is it, Beck?"

"I wanted to talk…about us, is that all right?" He looked hopeful, and a bit downtrodden. She breathed in a heavy sigh and shook her head. It broke her heart to turn him down, but she _needed_ the time.

"I told you how I felt already, you need to respect that."

"I _know_, I just…Is there a chance at all for the future? I don't want to lose you, Jade."

"Then you know what's needed. Right now, I just need time to work on myself. I need space…I want to see if you'll do that too…"

"Anything Jade, I'll do anything." She smiled sadly and hugged him, the rest stopped to watch. She stepped back from him, gazing into his sad eyes. "I love you, Jade. I do…"

"Then leave it at that. I love you too, but I need _time_. We have more important things to worry about right now…maybe after all of this, we'll see what happens…"

She tore away from him before her heart could break any further, and hurried beside Aveline. She felt the woman's hand on her shoulder and glanced over, struggling to keep from tearing up. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine…Let's just get out of here."

* * *

So everyone is safe, and Jade's calling it off with Beck for now. What are your observations of this chapter? Everyone came together to help Sinjin, that's got to earn some points for them.


	26. Stepping Stones

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 26 (Stepping Stone)

Upon receiving an urgent message on her phone, which was still bothering her somewhat, Trina was backtracking to Kirkwall with Tori and Sebastian. This was a state of emergency for her, the message had come from one of Tori's friends and said they all had to rush to Sinjin's and Andre's aid against some giant creature. While the message said everyone was safe, she was still worried that Sinjin, as well as the others, might have been gravely injured in the fight. The rest of the message said something about their having found some information regarding Meredith's son, but it was currently the farthest thing from her mind.

As they ran through the wilderness, her heart racing and her head pounding, they'd encountered many creatures that chased after them. Most were said to be the humanoid "Tal-Vashoth", part of those Qunari creatures that had been thrown out of Kirkwall many years ago. They would try to fight, but Trina didn't have time and would simply tell Tori to fire back some sort of blast whenever possible.

These creatures were best described as walking bulls, as if mankind mated with a cow, and these creatures were birthed as a result. How they did not exist any longer, Trina wasn't sure. "Sebastian, I have a question." Her eyes drifted to the right as the trio ran for the gates of Kirkwall. There were about three of these creatures running towards them with weapons raised in the air. She huffed, ignoring them, and continued her pursuit as Tori shot a massive blast of fire and ice at the group. Sebastian ran up beside her, awaiting her question. "What do you predict happening to all the 'mythical' creatures? They used to be my father's childhood stories, now seeing that they actually _existed_ at one time or another, I have to question…what happened to all of them."

"I wouldn't know," Sebastian replied. Of course she didn't expect him to know of an extermination that had yet to occur. "Some, like the Qunari, detest humans, so it's possible they breed only within themselves. There aren't many, and more seem to die every year, so maybe they're going to go extinct one day for that reason. Are you saying that all these things don't exist in the near future?"

"I don't know about 'near' future," Tori fired off another blast at more oncoming Qunari and let out a loud irritated groan. "I mean five hundred years is not 'near'. However, I don't know…" Trina's breathing grew labored and she swept the back of her hand across her brow, wiping away the sweat.

"Sinjin is a history major, he says there's no record or indication in any of the history texts he's read that creatures like Dragons, Elves, man-like cows ever existed beyond the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Something wiped them _all_ out, something massive. As if they never existed."

"Now that you mention that…" Sebastian cleared his throat and looked up towards the sky, frowning at the orange clouds above. "Merrill mentioned something once on our travels to the top of Sundermount. We stopped at some altar where she paid respect to the god that her people worship. I think she said the god is named Mythal, and she said legend has it if Mythal frowns upon you that you would be struck from the face of the earth as if you never existed…I have serious doubts about it, but it is as you say, everyone has their own religions and deities, but even still…I can't see mass extinction and nobody saying anything…"

"Well that's apparently happened at some time in history. After the 1500s, there is _no_ indication these things ever existed. Hell, even their remains are gone! Just legends…legends that became fairy tales."

"Fairy tales? Like what?"

"Snow white and the seven dwarves, for instance…or even Maleficent, the witch that could turn into a dragon…"

"We have that, actually," He laughed and Trina raised an eyebrow. "We call her Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds. Maybe whoever came up with those fairy tales was onto something. You say there is no text recording these creatures and…demons, but I'm sure there has to be _something_."

"Maybe. You and I can see them, clear as day, but no one in our time will ever believe us. I mean the biggest thing we have is the Komodo Dragon, and it's just a small lizard compared to the dragons you guys talk about."

"I see…another thing, the Qunari don't take well to being called _cattle_." She laughed once and picked up her speed, rushing the gates of Kirkwall. Behind them, they saw a number of these Qunari coming after them like a stampede of bulls. She let out a long whistle and turned her head back to the city.

"If they don't like being called after cattle, maybe they can stop acting like cattle. Or right now, they're acting more like buffalo." Perhaps that was the reason many of these things didn't seem to have any historical record of existing. Scientists can easily mistake the bones of creatures like the Qunari as animal or human, and most of these demons don't have bones within. As evidenced when Tori fried a demon and it melted into a puddle of burning tar. "I wouldn't put it past Dad to research this stuff. I mean, if you think about it, now that he knows this stuff to be real…maybe he'll figure something out. Right now, the most I care about is making sure Sinjin is okay."

"Barely leave Kirkwall and the whole lot of them get into a fight. Figures."

"Doesn't it, though?" She was grateful that Tori's friends were around, suffice to say. She hadn't expected them to have Sinjin's back where it mattered, and she was starting to see _some_ had her back. When it came to Sinjin, she had to know what happened. What attacked him, what injuries did he sustain? Was he all right? Whatever the case, she couldn't bear the thought of losing him. It was too much strain on her heart to imagine what would happen if he were gone from her life, and currently, she feared the worst. Trina did her best not to show it, but wasn't sure how believable that was.

After finally reaching the estate in Hightown, Trina practically fell through the front door. Sinjin and the others were waiting in front of the fireplace, and the first thing she did was run up to him. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him for a second before regaining her composure and stepping away. "Okay…what happened…" Her cheeks were enflamed from the sudden hug she just gave, and she was hoping to avoid the feeling of embarrassment.

"Well first off, we're all fine," Sinjin crossed his arms and looked towards the friends who were standing around the room. "I went off to try and find that former Grand Cleric, and they came after me." Her heart froze and she gawked at him, irritated to hear the implication that he went off alone.

"Wait…you're telling me you went by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Why?!" He looked back to her and shrugged his shoulders, unable to give a better reason aside from impatience.

"Not sure really, I wanted to find that woman and be done with it. Andre showed up with Isabela and Anders, basically saved my ass."

"Okay…"

"The old bat wound up turning into this giant golem, so Andre used the phone and got ahold of Jade, who gathered the whole group to come help us fight. So, I guess if there's anyone you should thank for the fact that we now have a possible lead to this person we're looking for…It's them…"

This was major news for her, she was grateful as hell that they managed to be there for Sinjin and keep him from getting hurt, above all else. It was obviously not something she'd assume was staged, either, so there was no chance of that. She hugged him once more, holding him close and looking over his shoulders at the others. She mouthed the words "Thank you", and tightened her hug on him. Tears fell from her gaze as she sought to push down her worry. "Don't think you're clear just because you found something out…It was still horrible of you to do that. You could have gotten killed, and then what?"

"I know. I got a bit overzealous."

"That's _not_ good enough." She stepped back and looked towards Trina's friends, shaking her head in bewilderment. "If it wasn't for them…god, who _knows_ what would have happened."

"If it says anything of character," Beck blurted out, grabbing her attention, "It was Jade that rallied everybody together to go save him. Even Robbie and Varric managed to somehow get over to stand post outside the cave to make sure no creatures came wondering in to make things worse. Andre called for help, Jade rallied, and we all came…not as an attempt to get on anyone's good side, just…"

"It was genuine. I get it." She waved him off and took a deep breath. Her eyes drifted to each person and her expression softened. She still wasn't sure how much faith she wanted to put in trusting them not to hurt her in the future, but as for now, maybe they were worth more than just _tolerance_. "Maybe I misjudged you guys, I don't know. I'm sorry if I seem so…so _bitter_, I just…I have reasons. I'm a person too, I have feelings like anyone else. To top it off, I _am _your best friend's _sister_. I guess you guys are worth a second look…just…don't let it get to your head." The others chuckled and Jade seemed to brighten at what was likely Trina's first real sign of approval.

"So that means you're going to actually give us a chance?" Jade seemed to bounce on her heels, and the eagerness in her voice spoke volumes to Trina. She hummed out her contemplation and looked to Sinjin for a minute.

"You guys saved Sinjin, and Tori's willing to give you guys another chance, assuming you work on things…I guess you can't be all bad…"

"What about me?" Anders joked, "I healed Sinjin's eyes. Does that count for anything with all of you?" Sinjin laughed and Trina raised an eyebrow, while Tori was the one to answer.

"Don't push it Anders, you _still_ do what you're going to do. I'm sure of that." Anders sighed in defeat and shook his head.

"I'm still not sure what you know, but fine. I'll take it."

Jade moved before Trina and looked her in the eyes, smiling politely. Still, this was a strange sight for her, but she'd just have to try and get used to it. Trina was going to be watchful of all of them, but was willing to at least let her guard down somewhat. "So here's what we found out. The former Grand Cleric was possessed by the demon of a rock golem, obviously. She gave Meredith's baby away to this Orlesian couple that, fortunately, lives here in Hightown."

"All right…continue…"

"Well." Jade paced the floor, locking her wrists behind her back. "Grandma Aveline said they dealt with this couple once before, their son Emile. However he is _not_ associated with Meredith _or_ blood magic in any way. They have two daughters as well, one of them is bound to know where this child went…clearly he may be the eldest of the siblings. Surely there's a trail."

"Right. And where there's a trail, there's bound to be the mage, and where he is…so is my ancestor." She narrowed her eyes and curled her finger beneath her chin. It was late at night, she wanted everyone to rest, as well as talking to Sinjin a little more about what happened in the caves. "We will investigate them tomorrow morning. Until then, I want everyone to get a good sleep. I'm going to retire to my bedroom for a little bit…Sinjin, follow. We're going to discuss you nearly getting yourself _killed_ to get this information."

He lifted his eyebrows while the others remarked about his possibly being in trouble. "I'm never going to live it down, am I?"

"Nope. If I _ever_ talk to Lindsay again, she wouldn't appreciate letting you forget it."

* * *

So Trina's finally starting to warm up a little more to the group, but still it's a slow and steady path for all of them. What are some of your observations and thoughts?


	27. One Theory

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: This chapter is going to answer some ongoing questions. It deals with what's going on in present day, and also shows at least one descendent of the companions from Dragon Age: Origins. You remember me mentioning the quote from Morrigan (one of those companions), she's a part of the theory.

* * *

Chapter 27 (One Theory)

Back in Las Vegas, David eyed the portal still sitting in his living room. It had only been a day for him, and was currently two in the afternoon. He was tempted to follow through the portal, but had not done so, and nothing had come through. He was trusting his daughters to be safe, and trusting Tori's friends to keep them safe. If they could be trusted with anything, that is, it would be that task alone.

David had been doing some research in his old storybooks and came to the conclusion that at some point of time all these stories had been real. That meant, cattle-like men, ogres, demons, and even _elves_ existed at one point of time. There was a search going on now to find out any information on why these things were wiped out. So far, one person had sent him an email, someone whose parent was recently employed with the law enforcement.

It was crazy to put out any kind of announcement requesting information for something so _trivial_, and he was surprised to find not many thought he was nuts. _He _thought it was nuts. As he sipped his coffee, he turned away from the portal and moved towards the couch. His desire for adventure was powerful, almost overwhelming, but he knew he would be a liability if he went through that portal.

The doorbell rang and he got up to answer. When he did, a small group of mothers and fathers walked in. Jade's father, Beck's father, Cat's mother, Andre's grandmother, Sinjin's sister was the only one out of place. Robbie's mother was the last to enter. Each person stared at the portal with shock on their faces. David let out a heavy sigh and walked around them.

Denise Harris was jittery as usual and jumped for the couch upon seeing the portal, the others remained silent. Rebecca Shapiro and Courtney Van Cleef practically fainted on the spot while Henry West and Manny Oliver simply looked to David for an explanation. "You called us here," Henry reported, "What is it? You said it had to do with our children, are they safe?"

"I believe they are…come with me, and stay close. I'm going to show you something…" He wasn't too keen on what he was going to do, but the only way he could explain and have them believe him was to show them himself. He grabbed a rope from the couch and let out a soft exhale. "Tie this around your waists, so we can be sure to stay together. We're going to walk into that portal, while one of us stays out here to make sure it doesn't close behind us…"

"Okay, so how is this going to explain what's going on?"

"You will see."

About twenty minutes later, everyone was sitting around the living room, trembling nervously. No words were spoken, aside from David's announcement that the kids had gone back into that past in order to rescue their ancestor. "When I told Robbie I wanted him to get in touch with his ancestry, this wasn't what I had in mind," Rebecca muttered. The woman had a rag over her forehead, and the water was drenching her curling black hair. Henry closed his eyes and shook his head, mumbling under his breath for a minute.

"You're telling me, my ancestor, Aveline, came here…requesting help from our descendents?"

"Yes. I do apologize for pushing you all through the portal, but I figured you weren't going to believe me any other way." They all shared the similar worry that their children's safety was uncertain. How could they know for sure whether they'd come back safe at all. Sinjin looked after his little sister, who was only four years younger, so she was definitely someone David wanted to make sure would take comfort in hoping her brother would come back in one piece. When he turned eighteen he got a place of his own and she followed, mainly because their parents were somewhat cut off from the world. His father was gone and they never got along well with their mother.

"So what exactly can we do?" Courtney rubbed her neck and glanced mournfully at the large portal. "I'm scared now. Mom lives on the other side of LA, I don't want to have to go stay with her."

"It'll be all right, it's best we just have faith. I also called everyone together because I need to know…it's been confirmed those children stories I used to tell my daughters are very real…"

Henry raised an eyebrow and Manny scoffed, "You're telling me that all that talk about dragons and whatnot…are real?"

"Apparently, I'm trying to figure out that if they were, why are they gone. I received an email from someone who apparently _knows_, so I'm going to meet with this person. Until then, I wanted to make sure you know what's going on." He paused, turning his eyes to his video monitoring set for a second, frowning as he recalled having been lied to by his daughter's friends. "Manny, there's something I'd like to discuss with you…actually, you as well as you two, Denise and Rebecca."

"What is it now?"

"It's about the boys…and what they did to my daughter. I want to know you'll at least talk to them about their behavior. I wouldn't bring this up otherwise, and my daughter is more than capable of taking care of herself, but I feel you need to see something…" The three nodded and he pulled over the laptop with the video on it. The reason he did this was so they would be able to talk to their kids about not pulling a stunt like this in the future. They could very nearly have hurt Trina, had it gone too far. If she didn't get hurt, someone would have.

After all was said and done, David and Henry went out to meet with whoever had sent the email. They walked into a café, _Panera Bread_, and were stunned to see Trina's old friends, Bryan and Salome waiting for them at one of the booths. He raised an eyebrow and slid into the booth, eyeing them both cautiously.

Salome had blonde hair now that went down to her shoulders in the form of braids, she wore braces and had a warm smile. Bryan was a bit more muscular than David remembered, his hair was a darker brown color and spiked up some. He peered out from his wire framed glasses and waved to David. "Hey Mr. Vega, do you remember us?"

"Yeah, Trina's old friends. Didn't you two move away a while back? What are you doing here?"

"Funny thing," Salome cleared her throat and leaned back in the booth, "We moved back here about a month ago. I hoped to try and get a hold of Trina, but I couldn't reach her anywhere. She probably blocked us, which I wouldn't blame her for…"

"She's had a rough time since you guys left. Were you the ones that emailed me? What for and how?"

"Our mother works for the police here now, and we saw your email on her computer. She left it open…We recognized some things that our grandma used to talk about all the time.'

He wasn't sure whether to be skeptical or not, at this point he'd take anything he heard whether it was from old friends of his daughter's or someone else. "And here I thought people would presume my question to be crazy."

"Well we won't sell you short," Bryan joked, "We kind of did at first. Then we decided to ask Grandma because she keeps all those old records and stuff. She has a book from an ancestor, and what it tells is very interesting…"

"It was grandma that used to say everything existed that we've heard about in fairy tales." Salome lifted an old and tattered notebook from her lap and set it down in front of him. He gazed down with an intense curiosity, as if the book itself were calling out to him. "She always said her ancestor has the most profitable theory as to what happened to all those creatures, and this book has it all."

"So what is your grandmother's story then? I'm interested in knowing, in hearing any theory whatsoever. I never imagined it all to be real…"

"Okay, so…what we found, and it _is_ just a theory. It's not like there's anything in history books." Salome opened the book and started scanning the pages with her eyes, speaking softly. "Our ancestor was a witch. One who worked with someone that was a part of this organization called the Grey Wardens who fought against demons called 'darkspawn'. They slew a dragon together. Morrigan was her name, daughter of Flemeth, the 'Witch of the Wilds'. In a ritual to save the Warden's life by taking on the essence of the warden, she conceived a child so that the dragon known as the 'archdemon' would not go into him and kill him…so he could live his life with the bard who was also a companion, her name was Leliana."

"Okay…" This was all over his head, yet it still pulled him in. He needed, no, _had_ to know more. "So you're descended from this alleged child that Morrigan had with the Warden?"

"Sort of…Morrigan yes, but not the Warden's child. Rather, the sibling of Grandma always said the story went on that Morrigan disappeared into some portal. In this part of the journal, the sibling writes about what occurs." David nodded his head and exchanged a look of wonder with Henry as Salome went on to read her ancestor's words.

_On this day in the year 1524, my mother's plan takes hold now as my brother's destiny unfolds. As I sit here writing this, a force unseen by any humans descends upon the world. My brother, born of the essence of a Grey Warden and of an Arch Demon, leader of Darkspawn has enormous capabilities…I fear this will be the last I see him._

_ Mother has ordered me stay inside during the ritual, but I cannot. I am watching as my brother's body and spirit rises up into the heavens and forms what is to be a giant spherical shape. So far, humans around me are not reacting, it is as though they are blind to this. What is going on? What is my mother hiding with that serious expression of hers. What is her plan and why is my brother a part of this?_

_ Mother says my fears were correct, after tonight I will no longer be able to see him. She also says that the world shall no longer live in fear, I do not understand. She claims that there will be stories, but there will never be fact. The strongest creatures will devolve, while some will vanish. This was years in the making, a ritual to turn my very brother into a bomb of some sort. I do not understand this…_

_ An explosion happened well over an hour ago, a purple mist cloaked our planet and no one reacted. I saw, with my own eyes, this mist touched and destroyed a tar-like demon. Another, a Qunari, gone in an instant. A mighty dragon that flew in the distance, fell to the earth and changed its shape…perhaps into another type of lizard. What is to go on in this world? I will not understand. All I know is I want to see my brother, to laugh with him and to talk again. Why is this happening? Why does this terror destroy me? Brother, I will miss you._

_ My mother finally explained what took place two days ago. She said it was years in the making, since she left the Warden's side. She was planning to rid the world of the menace called darkspawn. With the Archdemon's essence, she was able to obtain blood of demons. With the Grey Warden's blood she was able to find a counterbalance that could destroy the demon. She explained to me that now my brother was of a certain age, the potion inside of him would be more than ready. When he exploded into that mist that cloaked the world, it turned anything with demon blood into dust, eradicating even their bone. Certain creatures will cease to exist, no longer made to terrorize the world. _

_ This also affected those with partial mixed blood, apparently. People who walked this earth as Elves now looked more human in form. Their ears retreating and their structure becoming like us. What does this mean for the world? What has my mother done? I do not understand, still, but maybe she's right. Maybe this is a change for the better…or is it a change for the worse? Time will tell…"_

Salome looked up and David's mouth hung open. He had no clue how to react to what she'd just read, and he struggled to believe it. It was still just a theory, so there was no shame in not believing it at this point. Though, it was the only theory that explained what could have happened, even if it seemed unlikely.

"I don't know if it's true or not, but it is interesting. Don't you agree, Mr. Vega?"

"It is interesting, that's for sure…"

"Why the sudden interest?"

"No particular reason…" The siblings nodded and shut the book. David had to wonder, was it best for things to remain a mystery? Perhaps that was all this would ever be. "Now…what about you guys, are you still trying to get in touch with Trina?"

"We would like to, but we understand if she doesn't want to talk to us. Is it all right if we give you our numbers? Maybe you can talk to her?"

"I can try…Lindsay spoke with her recently, actually. So maybe she'll get in touch with you. One step at time. Either way, I appreciate you coming out with your grandma's story, it really does shed some light on a possible theory." Salome and Bryan smiled at him and pulled the book away. He'd be more than glad to talk to Trina about getting in touch with them, but he knew she'd need time. Not to mention, he wouldn't be able to do _anything_ at this point even if he wanted to.

* * *

Your thoughts on everything?


	28. Joyriding: Ancient Times

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 28 (Joyriding Ancient Times)

Sinjin, Tori, and Jade followed Trina just outside of Hightown where the paths were that Trina had been running about the prior day. Cat was with them as well, as Trina suggested her come. Merrill went to Hightown with her, but stayed at the market to wait for them. Trina had given Sinjin a bit of a tongue-lashing for getting himself in such a bad situation, but she was past that now. She had an idea she wanted to run by the two, though she was pretty sure the ancestors wouldn't be too thrilled for reasons of it being related to future technologies.

"Tori, Sebastian and I were pretty far off when we heard what happened, it took a lot of running to get here. By 'a lot', I'm talking miles." Her legs were still sore, but over the week or so they'd been there, she was starting to grow used to it. "I have a possible solution, but I want to test it. For this, we have to be outside Kirkwall. There are no people out here to see this."

"What's the plan?" Jade looked across the plains, dirt and grass stretched out as far as the eye could see. She chuckled and crossed her arms. "You going to make a car appear or something?" Trina smirked back to Jade as Sinjin and Tori raised their eyebrows. Jade's arms fell to the sides and her jaw dropped. "You're kidding. A _car?_ In the 1400s?"

"Be glad I'm not asking for my dad's 9mm. Guns from our time would rip through the demons and bad guys here." They managed to get phones working, surely they could make a car appear. Now what she had in mind was also the possibility of concealing themselves within it. She wasn't sure how probable that was if they were driving it, but as long as they kept the car outside of the town and kept it hidden as Bethany had done with the portal, it should work. "I think it would be easier to get places if we have to go outwards. It takes half a day to get to Sundermount, it takes hours to walk to the Wounded Coast. Imagine how much time we could cut back on if we used a car to make it?"

"What would happen if people saw it?" Sinjin asked with a raised eyebrow. Tori looked over and lifted her shoulders.

"She has a point. Surely if we got a car with dark windows, the people here couldn't see inside it and would think the car is just another form of darkspawn. They've also never seen it before, so…their first reaction would probably be running out of fear. Using a spell to conceal it when its stationary isn't a big deal, but while moving, I'm not sure."

"I'd like to at least try," Cat replied. "Would it be for emergencies only, though?" Trina walked forward, nodding her head. It never took long to get from town to town. Hightown to Lowtown was a fifteen minute trek, ten more minutes towards Darktown. The Docks were about half an hour from Hightown. The Gallows was an island off the Docks that they had to use a small ship to reach. "So what would we use the car for?"

"Inner city travel just isn't necessary for a car, but it's when we have to travel outside a ways. Sebastian told us yesterday that by foot, it was practically a day or two walk towards the city of Orlais. Imagine if we had to go there?" Cat shuddered as the other two exchanged glances, Trina could see they were at least considering it. "I say let's give it a try, and if we don't like it, we can always be rid of it." She had the three mages here for the very reason that summoning this car _might_ take all of them, but she wasn't sure.

Sinjin extended his palm towards an empty patch of land, smirking lightly, "I'm curious. So let's go ahead." Tori aimed for the same area and Cat hurried over to them. "What kind of car do you want?"

"Nissan, police convertible with black tinted windows." Sinjin cracked his neck and Tori sighed. The three mages quickly went to work trying to construct a vehicle from memories back home. Police convertibles weren't frequent, but they did exist. She just wanted a car that she could put the top down on some occasions, though it _would_ be safer to just put the top up. "This is just a tester. If we can do this, I would like to reconstruct to put an SUV here. If that's all right?"

"We can do that." The police cruiser appeared before them and everyone cheered. It was quite a sight, seeing the police car in this particular timeline. They piled into the car with Trina at the wheel, Sinjin in the passenger seat beside her, and the girls behind them. "One more thing…"

"What?" She watched him snap his fingers, forming a CD case in his hand. Her eyes widened upon seeing the name _Shakira_. He pushed the CD into the radio, and the song _Loca_ began to play. "God you're amazing." He laughed and the girls began to grin.

"No one's around, so we may as well, right?" She licked her lips as she felt of the leather steering wheel. "Trina. Your shades?" She looked back over and saw him holding a pair of sunglasses. "God I'm going to miss magic when we go back home."

"Eh, magic just makes things too easy." She took the shades and put them on, then slammed her foot down on the gas pedal. The car started up, speeding through the roads. An off-road SUV would probably be better for this area, so she definitely wanted a change of cars after this. The wind blew through her hair and Shakira sang proudly on the car radio. The group laughed happily, feeling like they could now travel anywhere. Her heart raced and adrenaline coursed through her veins. "So this is what the first person to drive a car felt like."

Cat threw her arms up in the air, screaming out with pleasure. She was sitting between Jade and Tori, somehow managing to remain cushioned. Jade hung her elbow over the right side of the car and ran her hand through her hair. Tori looked out along the left, breathing out a sigh.

Driving along was somewhat peaceful. Trina always wanted to drive around where there were no cars in sight, and this was a perfect moment. The ancestors could rightfully call this a death machine, though. She had to wonder what they would think if they saw it.

Tori put a hand to the side of the car and muttered some kind of spell, an aura of invisibility moved along the vehicle and cloaked them. In doing so, Trina spotted a 'herd' of Qunari off to the right. Deciding to test the invisibility, she drove up to them and slowed the vehicle to a halt.

The group of Qunari were sitting around a fire, one of which was poking it with a stick. Further testing things, she began driving in a circle around them. The Qunari looked up as if there were something they heard nearby. _"That would be my car's motor you're hearing. Yes…"_

She brought the top over the car and started to roll the windows up. After about five minutes, the cloak wore off. "I can't keep it up for a long time while the car's moving," Tori cursed. "No trouble if it's not moving."

"That's fine…" It was a little disheartening to hear, but it was not a big deal for her. Though, with the cloak wearing off, the Qunari were eyeing the car with fear flourishing in their eyes. "Okay cow people, run away now…hear the roar of my car." She pounded her palm on the horn, letting it rip out. The Qunari threw their hands to their ears, letting out a loud bellow and rushing away. "Well…that was simple."

"I'm wondering if it was cruel or not," Jade tapped her chin and curled her lips into a smirk. "I loved it." Trina looked straight ahead and frowned as she saw a group of tar demon darkspawn, and skeleton archers. Jade looked ahead as well and frowned. "They must have been drawn in by the sound…"

"Then we'll make quick work of them." She reached down and struck the siren button. The cruiser let out a violent wail, startling the demons. She narrowed her eyes and smirked, singing along under her breath to one of Shakira's songs that was now playing. Her foot pressed down on the pedal, and the car lunged for the demon.

The skeleton archers shot the arrows at them, but they merely bounced off the car. The sloth demons made of tar charged the car head on, but Trina merely ran them over, killing them in an instant and leaving tread marks in them. Sinjin and Tori rolled their windows down and fired off several blasts at the surrounding darkspawn. "Welcome to the future, darkspawn! There's a reason you're extinct and humans aren't!"

She turned the wheels sharply, spinning her car out in a 180 turn, then hit the break. Dust hovered into the air all around them, clearing after a few seconds. Trina rolled down her window and gazed out, smirking at the sole remaining darkspawn, an archer that was staring at them with wide eyes and a slack-jawed expression. Sinjin leaned forward, looking out to the demon. He raised a hand and fired a bolt of lightning into the demon's head, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Tori?"

Tori looked up with a delighted hum. "Yeah sis?" Trina glanced back over her shoulder, grinning as the adrenaline continued spiking in her blood.

"Please never tell Dad I just drove like that. In a police car, no less."

"Secret's safe with me." Tori laughed and the others shook their heads. When they were certain it was all clear, they piled out of the vehicle. Tori tilted her head and tapped her finger on her chin. "Okay what do you want done with the car? Keep it or get rid of it and switch it out?"

"We need a bigger vehicle." Trina placed the CD in the case, making sure she wouldn't lose it. The three mages made the car vanish and looked to her for suggestions. She struggled to think of a good car, then finally a good vehicle came to mind. It was the second in a list of ten best off road SUVs she read once, she didn't remember all the cars though. "Black 2012 Nissan Xtera. It's large, sturdy, and has more seats for our ancestors _if_ any of them decide to brave the vehicle. We'll use the invisibility cloak and keep it hidden outside the gates of the city."

"Sounds good to me," Tori replied. "Though I don't see any of the ancestors, other than Aveline, _maybe_ trying the car." They wasted no time in summoning the car, a quicker and easier task than it had been the first time. Probably due to the recognition of the vehicle and the experience of having brought one before.

Trina grinned as the beautifully trimmed car appeared before her eyes. This was going to make her time here much easier as far as travel was concerned. Only in emergencies, of course, or long winded travel.

"Great."

* * *

So what are your thoughts? Indeed they made quick work of the demons on the plains outside the city. The ancestors are going to have a field day with this one, haha. Your thoughts


	29. Gainig a Lead

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 29 (Gaining a Lead)

When they made it to the gates of HIghtown, they were met by Merrill, Fenris, and Beck. The car was not yet cloaked, so the two ancestors were staring wide-eyed at the vehicle. Trina stepped out with a wide grin, carefully closing the door. "You guys want to ride? I got the keys and we can easily ride around the plains for a bit if you fell up to it." Aveline walked up behind the ancestors and gawked at the car.

"Dear god you brought one of those things here? What on _earth?"_ Sinjin and Cat cloaked the vehicle in invisibility while Tori hurried over to her sister.

"Faster travel on the chance that we might have to travel to farther places outside Kirkwall." Aveline groaned and moved her hand up to her forehead. Trina had almost forgotten that Aveline saw plenty of them before when she came to the present day, but the quizzical expression on the other ancestors' faces was indeed priceless. Tori held onto her bright grin and bounced on her heels. "You should take a ride and then you'll see just how amazing it can be. I mean it literally cuts trips in half, and we took out a cluster of darkspawn with ease just now…while also scaring away some Qunari."

"Still. It isn't normal…but if it helps, then whatever. How did you summon it?"

"Easy." Sinjin leaned against a nearby wall and looked in the direction of the now cloaked vehicle. "I mean it takes a lot out of you though, draining, but it's simple. We have the mentality of how a car works, what it needs and what it looks like. That being said, we can recreate it in our minds. I know Merrill further understands how a mage can summon something out of thin air." Merrill slowly nodded her head and Sinjin pushed himself from the wall. "Recreate something in your mind and how it works, create it. Though it depends…like it took myself, Tori, and Cat all to make the car. One of us alone can't do it."

"Well, that makes sense. I see you also have the invisibility spell down. Tori, you met up with Bethany recently?"

"Yes. She gave me some pointers. I'm still not so good with it though."

"What do you mean?"

"I can cloak a stationary object with no trouble, but a moving object can only stay hidden for a few minutes. So it wouldn't do much good to travel with it inside Kirkwall." Aveline raised an eyebrow and Fenris shook his head.

"Unless you want a major witch hunt against your ancestor, I wouldn't use that thing in Kirkwall." It was an exceptionally good point, Trina was sure to be careful regarding use of the car. "Anyway, I think it's time to pay a visit to the De Launcets. If they know anything about the son they adopted…"

"All right," Trina began to walk through Hightown, sighing heavily as she contemplated who could be of most use here. Jade needed to run through some patrols with her grandparents, and Sinjin was going to head back to Darktown to help Anders with the clinic, so she needed some others to come with her. "Tori, Cat, and…Beck, I suppose…Let's go talk to them."

Beck seemed happy to be chosen, he really hadn't gotten much chance to do anything other than train. The same was said for Cat, and Tori was the most obvious choice for sticking around. The others went off to do their own thing as Fenris directed them to the mansion. The Du Launcets lived somewhat near his estate. "So, what are we expecting if they don't have any info?" Beck asked.

"Then we talk to Emile and his sisters. Someone has to know _something_." Trina lifted her eyes towards the skies, smiling as she studied the shapes of the clouds above. She drew a breath and looked away, glancing curiously at Beck. "Hey, is something going on with you and Jade? She seems a little distant when it comes to you."

"We split up…" _Again_? She rolled her eyes and looked to Tori, who immediately bowed her head. Beck groaned spitefully, "I know how it looks. It is yet _another_ breakup, but this time…it's real. For a real reason, not vanity or jealousy, or well…maybe a little vanity."

"Just a little, huh?" Exasperated, Beck crossed his arms and glared at the buildings ahead.

"I am narcissistic, I'll admit. You were right about me. I don't think enough of Jade, or other people, something like that. She wants me to work on myself and says both she and I have a lot of changing to do and wants some space to work on herself while I work on myself. I know I have issues, I just…sometimes I do things without thinking about the repercussions, and for that, I'm sorry."

"Okay?" She raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged her shoulders. There really was nothing she could think of to say, she was half tempted to make a snide remark about his having restrained her in place that one night, but knew better than to do so. "What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing, I just wanted you to know that." He rubbed the back of his head and closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly. "I disrespected you, your sister and your dad. I don't deserve another chance, but if given one, I promise to try and do better. To be a better person, a better friend. I mean…do you think it's possible?"

"Why are you asking _me?_ Ask yourself if it's possible, surely you'll find the answer or something there."

"Because I don't know. I don't know how hard to try and if I try, will I fall?"

"Sure you'll fall," Fenris said as he glanced over his shoulder at Beck. "You'll fall multiple times, it's having the capability to get back up where it matters. If you stay down, you'll never get up."

"It's just…"

"All about self control, Beck." Tori pat him on the shoulder, then removed her hand. "It's true, you need to think about how your actions are going to affect other people. I understand it's hard to do that when you're so focused on your own feelings, so that's where you learn to think twice as hard. Like that time you tried to kiss me after just breaking up with Jade…" Trina's eyes flew towards Beck, anger surged within her for a split second and her eyes narrowed upon him. "You should have known that wouldn't be right, and I think you did, it's just a matter of stopping and saying to yourself 'will this help things or make things worse?'"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

They made it to the door of the estate and Fenris knocked, Trina stepped forward and crossed her arms as the butler answered the door. The man was tall, had a red goatee and a strange smile plastered on his face. His eyes were closed and arms behind his back. Trina raised an eyebrow at him and waited for the man to speak, but words never came.

Rather, he stepped out of the way and a petite woman with shoulder length red hair and curly bangs walked up behind him. Trina figured this had to be Dulci. The woman smiled charmingly and spoke with a high, almost nasally tone. "Why hello Champion! What brings you here? I trust Emile is doing well?"

"Emile is fine, we're here to discuss a different child, confirmed blood mage." Dulci gasped and placed her wrist dramatically to her forehead, calling out for Guillaume. Her husband rounded the corner and extended his arms as she fainted back into him. Trina bowed her head and moved her thumb and forefinger in circles on her forehead. _"Now I understand all the jokes about Orlesians…"_

"What seems to be the matter?" Guillaume inquired.

"The Grand Cleric gave you a baby twenty years ago. To put it bluntly. He is a confirmed, dangerous blood mage, and we need to find his location." The man's face paled and his wife released another theatrical sigh.

"Guillaume darling! She speaks of Zander." Trina's eyebrows shot up and excitement overcame her. They were on a roll now, they actually had a _name!_ Only, why did these parents seem to be terrified of him?

"Okay, so what seems to be the problem with this Zander? Do you know where he is?"

"He was a nightmare," Guillaume replied, "Even the circle wouldn't take him. We sent him in when we sent Emile in, but he returned…covered in blood from head to toe. The circle of Orlais had been heavily devastated by him, so much so they even returned Emile to us. We had to flee Orlais, we came to Kirkwall and sent Emile to the circle here. As for Zander…we suspect he's still over there."

From the sounds of this terror, Trina was stricken with grief. How could a child be so vicious at an early age unless he was had schizophrenia, a condition obviously not yet coined in this era. "You believe he could still be in Orlais?"

"It is possible. We left our home as is, he may be using it as his home now." There was no way a mage as dangerous sounding as Zander would be hiding out in a house, he had to be somewhere perhaps underground. How could they even be certain that he would still be in Orlais? "He never liked to move around much. If he's left Orlais, I would be surprised. Why do you seek him?"

"He has kidnapped a high noble and intends to take the said noble's life. We have reason to believe he must be subdued at once…" It was the nicest thing she could think to say, and the best reason she could give. She didn't want to tell the family that chances were slim they'd see him again, but she had a good feeling they weren't too worried about that fact. "We will let you know if we catch him. Thank you for being so cooperative. We wouldn't be able to get a lead on this without your help."

"Yes Champion, please do the best you can to protect. I must get my wife to bed."

She looked to Dulci, who was now _sleeping_ in his arms. "You do that…" She turned away and began to walk off, rolling her eyes. The others followed after her. "Orlesians…dear god, I get it now."

"I have a question," Cat perked up and bounced ahead of Trina. Trina met her eager gaze and smiled slightly. "Why don't we do what Merrill and the others had to do to locate you? Instead we see Emile or something and use his DNA to find Zander?" She let out a sigh and shook her head, causing Cat a great deal of disappointment. "Why not?"

"Well first of all Cat, Zander is _Meredith's and Orsino's child_. If we took Emile's DNA, it would do nothing. Secondly, that would require blood magic, which none of us practice except for Merrill, who is trying to be rid of it. We'd have to find someone willing to use blood magic for that."

"Maybe Orsino?"

"I don't think Orsino would be a willing participant in locating the very son that he thinks would be the bane of his political career." Not to mention she _truly_ didn't want to see Orsino. She had a feeling if she ran into him again, she'd knock his head off. "I mean it isn't a bad idea…"

"What about Meredith?"

"Meredith? Seriously? She's trying to kill all the blood mages _because_ of Orsino. Don't worry too much, Cat. We'll figure this out."

"Okay…" Cat's shoulders slumped down and she continued to walk in silence. Cat's idea really wasn't a bad one at all, Trina just didn't see how it would work out well. Plus, she didn't want to do anything that might get her ancestor in trouble. Sarah likely wouldn't want to be accused of something she didn't do.

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So now they have an idea of where to go, what did you think of this chapter?


	30. Listening to the Heart

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 30 (Listening to the Heart)

Trina sat in the driver's seat of the car they'd conjured, Tori unveiled it for her out of request. It was the middle of the night and Trina had the headlights on, it did not concern her whether there were any dangers out or not, she wasn't going far. She simply wished to think, and needed some time alone with the Shakira CD that Sinjin conjured up for her.

Currently the song playing was the one that spoke most to her, she replayed it repeatedly, unable to let her idol's music go to any other song on the album. She closed her eyes for a split second, letting the words sink into her mind as she sang along. The song was _Underneath Your Clothes_, one of Shakira's softer tunes that truly spoke volumes for her. This song, among many others, was what made her think more of Sinjin.

What was in her heart when it came to her feelings for him? Her lips tugged back at the corners and her eyes slanted at various moving objects ahead of her. Darkspawn surely, but they were not reacting to her car. Likely because to them, in the pitch blackness of night, all they saw were two bright lights and nothing more. She was easily disguised. Her eyes drifted towards the sky and her voice left her with the song on the radio.

_"__Underneath your clothes there's an endless story, there's the man I chose, there's my territory and all the things I deserve…"_ She stopped her car and peered out as the creatures slipped past her. She looked away, dreaming of the moments with Sinjin that she'd had through the years. The laughter, the tears, the ability he had to make her smile.

_"Hey Trina, you think I can do a rail grind?" Young Sinjin smirked as he leaned his skateboard against the railing beside the school. Trina shook her head and shouted as he got on the board and attempted to hop onto the rail, only to fall off and land in the grass. She rushed to his side and knelt down, narrowing her eyes as he looked up to her and grinned. "I'm okay…"_

_ "Are you sure?"_

_ "Yeah angel…" With that, she dropped him back to the ground and folded her arms._

Trina smiled at the memory and slowly shook her head, feeling her heart skip a beat. _"__Because of you, I forgot the smart ways to lie. Because of you I'm running out of reasons to cry…"_ Her head lifted up and she slowly pressed down on the gas, exhaling slowly as she continued to sway along with Shakira's words. _"When the friends are gone, when the party's over, we will still belong together."_

This was an interesting road she was on, a perilous one at that. Tori's friends _were_ making efforts, but now it seemed the problem was with her. It was her trust issues that weren't allowing them inside, it was her trust issues not allowing her to be with the man she loved. How the hell was she supposed to get past that?

Trina mourned at the heaviness in her chest and shifted the gear into park. She closed her eyes and reclined in her seat. Her brain danced circles round her heart, mocking her for being so weak. She let out a defeated sigh and moved her hand over her eyes, groaning as her head began pounding.

"Is there a problem?"

She pulled her hand away at the sudden voice, her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes tore to her right. Sitting in the passenger seat was a woman with wavy brown hair and plate armor. She had a vague appearance and soft eyes that stood out over all else. What was this? Did ghosts exist now? "Who, or what are you?"

"Someone whose conscience is linked to you because of whatever magic Merrill or Zander has done to me. I'm Hawke." Trina's eyes widened and her hand moved up to her mouth. "He woke me temporarily again."

"I thought…you couldn't be woken without me? I'm your descendent, Trina." Sarah's eyes lit up and she slowly shook her head.

"He's only been able to wake my mental state temporarily, even he can't wake me fully. I'm a little frightened, but I'm guessing Aveline figured something out?"

"Bethany did. Merrill had to use blood magic, but it was all to find you. They had to go through some portal and find us…My friends came along with me, we've discovered Zander lives somewhere in Orlais." Sarah nodded and looked around, scanning her surroundings. Her face tensed and sadness swept over her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I can't see anything other than you. I'm the one that put the dream in your head that other day, by the way. I figured out I was linked to someone else, it was the only thing I could think to do. Now, what is troubling you?"

"Just a number of things…not like it matters, I just, it'll go away after a while."

"You do nothing about what ails you?" She rolled her eyes and put her hands to the steering wheel, hovering her foot above the gas pedal.

"What's the point? People are always going to hurt me and these trust issues will never go away. I can't let the people I want to let in inside, and the one man that I love…I can't let him in…"

"I don't know how much time I have before I black out again, but let me think about this. You can talk to me…who has harmed you?"

"Want the list?"

"I have time. Sort of."

"Let's see, the first man I dated, I was thirteen. He was a cheat. Danny, he was going between me and one of my best friends at the time and neither of us knew. Lindsay. He then dated my sister for a period of time, which I wasn't happy about. He cheated on her…then he dated one of her friends and started to seduce my sister again, _not happy_ about that. Second guy I dated was abusive and possessive. Third guy I dated, when I was seventeen was barely decent, a compulsive liar. Fourth and fifth, don't get me started. Then the last guy I _tried_ to date was someone named Seth. He was number six, he got Tori's friends to dump me, _in a song!"_ She removed her hand and buried it in her hair, holding back a scream. Sarah frowned and shook her head.

"You've had bad luck with men, but we've all been there. Surely not every one of them is the same?"

"They're not, I know that because my best friend Sinjin…I love him with all my heart, he loves me too, and I _know_ he would do nothing to hurt me. I-I'm just more afraid that I'm too emotionally damaged for him." Her head fell back on the chair and her lips released a sorrowful moan. "Tori's friends ran all my other friends off, berated and mocked me for years, abusing me. Verbally, emotionally, and sometimes physically, and _now_ they're trying to make a turn around. I can see them doing that, I can see them working on it, but I'm unable to let them in. My best friend over all, Lindsay, also reached out to me recently, wanting to start over…"

"But you're afraid to trust that?"

"I don't know whether I'm afraid to trust that…or afraid I don't trust myself." She opened her eyes and looked towards the ancestor, still curious whether this was the actual woman or just her imagination. She sounded real enough, though, and perhaps a temporary link through blood magic was possible. That _was_ what happened with all the ancestors and their descendents, after all. Was it possible since Merrill's magic didn't affect Sebastian, that the stream that was meant for him somehow struck Sarah instead, though she was far away?

"If this man you speak of, Sinjin, loves you as much as you say…how long has he been there?"

"Through everything. He is practically the nice guy there while I dated all those assholes…ironically enough…"

"So he was there to see you through all the pain and suffering?" She nodded and Sarah folded her arms over. "Don't be afraid of your heart. Trust me, I know how hard that can be and how much of a hindrance it is to not let anyone in. He won't be around forever, will he? Eventually he's going to have to move on."

"I don't want to lose him. I just…"

"If he's seen it all, then certainly whatever emotional pain you feel won't damage him. He wouldn't let it, if he loves you as much as you say, then he'll still stand by you. Maybe even help those fears and doubts you have about yourself to go away. Do you think he would?"

"Maybe…he and my sister. My sister Tori and I have a strange relationship, you know."

"You still see her every day?"

"Yeah…"

"I don't get to see Bethany every day, sometimes many months go by and I don't see her. Can you imagine it?" Trina's eyes widened and her heart sank. She understood why it was, since she read about the Circle, but it was still traumatizing. Sarah bowed her head and narrowed her eyes. "I…I don't know if things would have been different had I taken her into the deep roads when we went on that infernal expedition, but somehow I feel like I did the right thing. Something tells me I would have lost her had I taken her down there, and this Circle, is a better fate still than death would be…because at least now I get to see her sometimes."

"Right…I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Tori. It's just, when she went to school at Hollywood Arts, she changed away from this girl that used to look up to me. She used to need me and love me and follow me everywhere."

Sarah laughed and reached over, patting her on the shoulder. "Your sister is only growing up, don't worry. However, I can tell you right now that as your sister, she probably will never stop needing you. As much as she needs you and loves you, you love and need her. That never changes, no matter what happens externally. You mentioned her friends, and I suppose they're the reason you feel she's changed?"

"Yes…but she told them they had to respect me." Sarah smiled at her, her voice lowered to a whisper and her eyes connected with Trina's.

"There you have it." Trina's heart fluttered within her chest, and a relaxing calm started to sweep over her. She didn't question her sister loved her, but now she felt as though she shouldn't dare to question it. "If her friends are making solid attempts at befriending you, and their attempts are genuine, why push them away?"

"Because I'm afraid they'll go right back to how things used to be."

"What do you care? They are Tori's friends, I thought." She chuckled at her ancestor and looked away. The woman had a point, Tori's friends were slowly making attempts to befriend her or respect her, and maybe that was enough? She honestly didn't know.

"I said I'd give them a chance, but it's so hard…"

"Leave it at that. You said you'd give them a chance, it means you're open to the possibility. You don't need to do anything more, you've left it open and the ball is now in their court, is it not?"

"It is…it really is…"

"Tell me about Lindsay."

"Her?" Trina smiled in admiration and leaned back, sighing heavily as her best friend came to mind. "My best friend above all else, we did everything together. She introduced me to my favorite entertainer and helped me get away from that abusive boyfriend I mentioned. We…drifted apart after arguing over my lack of standing up for myself when it came to Tori's friends. I ran into her the other day, and she wants to start a friendship again."

"She was apologetic over drifting apart?"

"Yes. She was."

"Then what is the problem? Are you afraid of drifting apart again?"

"Yes…"

"So, I'm seeing what the problem is. Your heart wants to take chances, it wants to take these leaps. You want to trust these people, but your brain is pulling every bad experience as some sort of evidence."

"Almost like a criminal trial," she laughed once and swept fresh tears from her eyes. "In my head I can come up with every bit of evidence as to why _not_ to do something."

"Then tell it, firmly, to kindly shut up." Trina was astonished and looked over to see Sarah smirking and wagging her eyebrows. "Yes, it is that easy. Follow your heart." Sarah reached up, placing her hand beneath Trina's chin. "You're a strong, beautiful and independent woman, you deserve a chance to be happy. You won't be happy if you don't take risks, if you don't take chances. If you keep shutting your heart out, you will _never_ be happy."

"Just like that?" She held her breath, wavering on the inside. Sarah nodded and Trina closed her eyes. "I…I want to be happy, I do deserve to be happy."

"So let your heart do the talking, like it is right there. Now…" Sarah pulled her hand away and inhaled sharply. "I feel the darkness coming back in, I can't linger any longer…"

"We're going to find you."

"I believe you, but first…could you try to take a few risks while you're on the way? If that man is around, talk to him. I know you want to."

"I-I'll try."

"Then, hopefully when I see you, I'll see you with a smile?" Trina chuckled and brought her hand up, tucking her hair behind her ear. When she glanced up, Sarah was gone. She frowned and looked out the windshield as Shakira's next song played. _Waka-Waka _by Shakira.

_"You're a good soldier, choosing your battles. Pick yourself up and dust yourself off, and back in the saddle. You're on the front line, everyone's watching. You know when it's serious, we're getting closer. This isn't over. The pressure is on, you feel it, but you've got it all. Believe it. When you fall, get up, and if you fall…get up…"_

Trina stretched her arms out and gripped the steering wheel firmly, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. "I will…do my best to try…"

* * *

A bit of an echo if you will, Varric's words from the game not mine, haha. Well, Trina's gotten some much needed advice, lets see if she can follow through. What do you think? Think she's starting to get a bit stronger, maybe?


	31. Baring the Soul

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: It has a mention in this chapter, no lyrics mentioned or anything, but a song I want you guys to listen to. _Antes de las Seis_ by Shakira. A softer song in which the meaning can be interpreted as such: The woman is telling her lover that she is leaving herself open, vulnerable, that he knows every part of her and has the power to hurt her if he so wills it. She is saying that she is _trusting_ her lover with her heart, her soul, trusting him not to tear her apart. For this story, that song is one of many songs for Trina from Shakira that hold significant meaning and impact. Further ado, here is the chapter.

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Chapter 31 (Baring the Soul)

_"Shut up? As if it's that easy…"_ Trina fought against herself as she walked with her weary and lethargic sister through the darkened streets of Darktown. She was letting her legs do the moving as her heart lead the way, just as her ancestor advised. _"Varric talks about how the dwarves believe ancestors are something to be revered, that people are to honor and respect their ancestors. Even in our time, there are religions and groups of people that believe that still…He must be enjoying himself with all of us."_ She looked towards Tori, smiling slightly as her sister made eye contact.

"Is there a reason we have to do this in the middle of the night, Trina?"

"Yes." She couldn't help what her heart wanted, she understood that now, and she wanted to tell Sinjin before anything else got in the way. She wanted to talk to him before her own brain was able to start preventing her, before her insecurities ran away with her. "I have this sudden strength, this confidence…and I need to talk to Sinjin. Now."

"Funny, why didn't you find this strength tomorrow morning?" Tori yawned loudly. To the right, a Carta gang member was running towards them, blade raised. Without missing a beat, Tori created a wall of fire in front of the man so he could not come after them. "Instead, we travel at night when we're not only _tired and cranky_, but bad guys are out."

"What? It's just like LA, right?" Trina laughed nervously, remembering all the times she would leave the house in the middle of the night to go meet up with Sinjin or Lindsay, much against her father's wishes. Criminals often ran rampant in the streets, but she made sure to stay safe and portray an air of confidence that would keep criminals from coming after her. "So no different, really. It's just urgent…it can't wait, I don't want to wait until I can't bring all this up."

"Did you call him?"

"Did I…um…" She did _not_ call Sinjin, she didn't often use her phone around here anyway. Plus, she rarely called him when he was at the clinic. Other people were usually there as well. "No."

"Lovely…" Tori picked up the pace and walked in stride with Trina, slowly shaking her head. "I can't stand all this fighting. Killing and everything is just…I don't like it. None of us do, but it's necessary."

"I know, but worry when it does become easy. It just means you're human." It was never easy to kill another living human being, but even the darkspawn was difficult, though they were demons. "It's nice to know my little sister is still human, right?" She smirked and Tori rolled her eyes.

"Ha-ha, very funny."

"You know I love you, Tori."

"I love you too, sis. Always have." Tori smiled warmly and Trina absorbed the words, letting them build her up. Upon reaching Anders's clinic, Trina began to knock on the door. After a minute, it slowly opened and Anders gazed out with a surprised, yet exhausted look.

"What are you doing here? No offense…what's the problem?"

"Um…would you believe heart issues?" Anders raised an eyebrow, then opened the door fully and motioned to a cot in the back.

"Sinjin's sleeping, but I guess you can wake him, surely he won't mind."

"He won't, I know him. I wake him up at times like three in the morning _all_ the time." Tori raised an eyebrow and Trina rushed in side. With each step she took towards Sinjin, a growing fear rose up inside of her, telling her to simply give it up. The idea of loving someone would never happen for her. She closed her eyes and shook her head, tearing the thoughts away. _"Shut up, shut up, shut up, I deserve this. I deserve to be happy…for once in my life…"_

With that fueling her, she slowly lowered herself to Sinjin's cot and quietly moved onto it, curling herself beside him. She buried her face against his chest and brought her knees up between the two of them. Sinjin opened his eyes and stared into hers for a second before realizing she was there. "Trina? What…"

"I wanted to talk to you before I talked myself out of it. I need to tell you something, and it's very important." She looked to the makeshift bed, now realizing what she was laying on. It was a rock with a sheet thrown over it as well as a pillow stuffed with feathers. Not quite as comfortable as an actual bed, but not bad at all. Sinjin's smile filled her with warmth and confidence, of course she was amazed he'd be smiling at all when she woke him from sleep.

"Are you okay?"

"I love you." She just wanted to get it out before she stopped herself once more. Her emotions were clawing at her inside, like a demon ravishing her very soul. She took a deep breath and looked into Sinjin's calm, passionate gaze. Either it was his lack of sleep, or his understanding of her feelings, but he wasn't reacting with surprise. Instead, she gained a sense of love from him. Subconsciously, she cuddled closer to him and exhaled. "It's hard for me to let this out, but I need to. Before I lose you."

"You won't lose me, Trina. You know that."

"Bull, I almost lost you just the other day. _Twice_ apparently." She moved her hand to his chest, curling her fingers around the shirt he was wearing. It was a simple white shirt, probably something Anders had laying around. "Emotionally and physically, I just can't lose you. You don't understand. I _can't_, you're the only person in my life right now that means as much as you do…in the way that I mean, do you understand?"

"Yes, and, I love you too." Her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks turned magenta. She didn't really want to get into his fight with the golem, they'd been through it already. She had more important fish to fry. "So, you're struggling to tell me this? How can I make you feel more secure?"

She thought back to the various romances on the television screen and pondered if she could pull a line from them, but she really wanted to be serious. "Hold me and don't ever let me go?" Of course it slipped out, much to her embarrassment. Whenever she was nervous, she fell to such disgraces. Annoyed, she narrowed her eyes and mentally cursed herself. What other movie-inspired dialogues would she throw out now.

Sinjin seemed to pick up rather easily, he put his arm around her and gave her one kind smile and gently kissed her forehead. As he pulled away, he whispered three words, "As you wish." A play off a movie she, Lindsay and Salome would watch constantly. Though there was every bit of meaning, power and love in the way Sinjin said it that calmed her and pulled her towards him. She put her arms around him and set her head beneath his chin, nuzzling his neck. "So tell me what is on your mind. You're trembling."

"Because I'm nervous." She didn't even realize she was trembling, it seemed so natural to her. Sinjin hugged her close and her tremors started to simmer.

"No need to be so nervous. You know you can tell me anything, right?" He glanced past her to Tori and Anders talking to one another at the door, then glanced back to her. "You dragged your sister here too, I see."

"Yeah, I realize I probably didn't have to."

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself anyway, even if you could deal with the thugs. I don't think your father would like very well if something were to happen to you."

"What about you?"

"Me? Well. I would hate for something to happen to you." He reached up and groomed her hair back, tucking a strand of the hair in front of her face between his fingers and gingerly moving it to the side. She swallowed her breath and closed her eyes, struggling to stay awake but also struggling not to get up and run, or say something stupid that might distract them from this moment. "You mean the world to me, Trina. I can't imagine what my life would be like if you weren't a part of it."

"Boring?" She gave off a subtle smirk and lifted her shoulders. Her brow furrowed and her face fell flat as her lips thinned. She shook her head and felt a stray tear come to her eye. "I…am _so_ afraid, Sinjin. Not of you or anything, it's just…I'm a bit worried whether I will scare you off. You know me better than anyone, and I'm scared…scared my insecurities and emotional damage will be too much. How do I know you won't leave me too?"

"I haven't left yet and I don't plan on it. Like it or not, Vega, you've got me. It isn't _possible_ for you to scare me off."

"You mean like I did the others?"

"That wasn't you, and your friends know that. They each had their reasons for growing distant, and Lindsay is making her way back to you. You're something special, Trina. For you to impact someone's life so much that they either can't stop thinking about you or come back to you in the end…even Tori's friends, who are trying to become friends with you…That is talent in itself." She wore her heart on her sleeve, letting his soft-spoken words cradle her, lifting her spirits. She drew in a quick breath and held it for a moment, gazing into his confident eyes and longing for the embrace to continue through the night. "You're something else, you have a compassionate heart that…once people get through all of that exterior you have around yourself, they can truly see the hidden jewel that you are. You put one hundred percent into everything, you care about people, and you try your best."

"Well if you think I'm such a good person, why was it so damn difficult for other people to think it? What, did I try too hard or something?"

"All stuff that's in the past. You didn't do anything wrong, and those who have hurt you are trying their best to make it up for you. Finally seeing you for the person you are. Beautiful, headstrong, compassionate, and willing to do anything for a friend. You genuinely care about your family and for people, whether or not they deserve it, and you try not to talk down about anyone behind their back. You're a great person, a good person. Maybe you never volunteered at an animal shelter or something, like some might think your sister would do. Maybe you didn't convince a karaoke place to change their ways, or introduce a friend to an old crush, or other things that you talk about your sister's friends doing. It's the qualities I mentioned that make you, as I said, who you are, and those are what I fell in love with you over. Those qualities right there."

Trina was speechless, her thoughts were jumbled and her heart was beating a mile a minute. "I could volunteer at a kennel if you wanted me to…" She worked to regain her composure, still flushed as Sinjin let out a deep, melodious laugh. If ever she was attracted to him before, it was not nearly as much as she was in this moment. "Thank you…You know, you're a good person too. You care the world for your sister, never let anyone talk down to you and you have an amazing amount of love for my family…I think I take that for granted sometimes. If so, I'm sorry."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Here she was, finally ready to bear her soul to the one man that she trusted. She had every right to be fearful of men, but not this one, he was different than most. She'd been cheated on, deserted, abused, and even assaulted. Not that she told anyone what Ross ever did to her, though Sinjin understood. He was different.

"Six. Six men before, all shit and none_ ever_ would say something like that. I wonder if maybe seventh wouldn't be so bad?" She dipped her eyes for a minute, studying her fingers on his chest, then slowly glanced back to him. "When I said you know me more than anyone else…Have you heard Shakira's song _Antes de las Seis?"_

"Yeah?"

"Well…she sings it, it's to her lover. She's saying that while she knows that he knows all the points on her body, she's leaving herself open to him. Vulnerable. Trusting that while he has the power to hurt her, because he knows so much of her, that he won't." Tears began to work their way down her cheeks and Sinjin slowly brushed them away with his thumb, smiling softly into her gaze. "I…I leave myself open to you. I want you by my side, and I…I trust you not to damage me like others before. I love you that much. If I…do that…"

"I'm not perfect, you know I'll make mistakes, but I'll do my best. I would never harm you. I'd love to have you by my side, more than a friend. Besides…" He chuckled and gently kissed her forehead. "Let Lindsay reclaim her 'best friend' title. Boyfriend…holds a better ring for me, don't you think?" Her cheeks flared up once more and she pressed herself closer to him, holding on tight.

"Yeah. I think so."

"You're safe with me. I promise, I won't hurt you."

"Holding you to it. As for Lindsay…I still don't know…That's not a trust issue or anything, I just-I'm not sure."

"We'll see when we get back home. For now, let's focus on one thing at a time. Your ancestor." She closed her eyes, slowly nodding in response. Sarah was perhaps most important right now. Trina reached up timidly, giving him a quick and gentle kiss on the lips. It wasn't something she thought about, but rather, a quick gesture that surprised her afterwards. It did send a shockwave of peace roaring through her body and down to her heart, it was startling. Before either of them could react to the kiss, she let out a loud yawn and began to drift off into slumber, forgetting that her sister was still waiting for her to get up so they could go home. "Trina?"

It would be fine, Tori could sleep here in the clinic somewhere. They'd leave in the morning.

* * *

So what are your thoughts here? And yes, Trina actually has been slowly moving past all those traumas of her past (This chapter being her biggest leap forward yet). Gotta remember friends, it takes time. Even when the story's finished, realistically, Trina would _still_ have some issues to resolve, mostly with what her boyfriends did to her. She's still got insecurities but she's moving past them, and actually has been starting to move past them since Tori's friends rescued Sinjin). I've been waiting for her to get her ancestor's advice, but it was taking a while, that's why I threw in the last chapter. As for this point, rescuing the ancestor and so forth has the centerpoint, though you'll still see some hints of insecurity within Trina, but that's normal, because it's real. All those traumas, a person can't move past them in a couple weeks time. What's important is, she is getting much stronger.

So enough of that, tell me your thoughts on this chapter? Hopefully you went and listened to that song (Can I help it if I myself got hooked on Shakira? *sigh*), it's a very nice song. Now that Sinjin and Trina are together, they'll still take the relationiship carefully of course, not rushing into anything too huge.


	32. Heading for Orlais

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 32 (Headed for Orlais)

When daylight pierced her eyes, Trina rolled onto her back and covered them with her hands, groaning softly. She arched herself upwards, stretching out her muscles and sighing heavily. After a few seconds she realized she was sleeping on hard stone rather than the bed at her house, so she quickly sat up and looked around. Sinjin and Anders were busy healing some people who came into the clinic, and Tori was sitting on a nearby bed, staring at her.

Tori had circles around her eyes and was rubbing her neck, clearly sore from having slept on hard rock. "I guess I fell asleep?" She chuckled nervously, her eyes darted to Sinjin and her lips curled into a smile. Last night's talk played over and over in her mind, ending with a kiss that sealed their deal and tied them together. She took a risk and allowed herself to open herself up to him, now she was trusting both him and herself, maybe they could make this relationship work. "Trina's awake," Tori muttered.

Sinjin and Anders looked over, and the man of the hour decided to greet her. Sinjin pat his hands together and walked over to her, holding out his hand. The bed was low to the ground and she was feeling a bit woozy. "Sleep well last night?" She placed her hand in his and let him pull her up, with that, her body swayed forward into his arms. She let her arms rise up and hang around his neck, and her eyes glued into his.

"Yeah, you were comfortable," she answered in a whisper and gave him a quick peck on the lips. She always wondered if it would feel strange to be romantic with him, but she didn't feel any different at all. The only difference was their acknowledgement of being in a relationship with the other person. "I think I owe my sister an apology though…"

Tori cracked her neck and groaned once more, "Oh don't bother, Trina…I'll be fine once I stretch myself out." Tori stood on her feet and rubbed her temples. "I'm just going to take that as payback for all the times I may have ignored you or mistreated you." Tori rolled her head around her neck and gasped out as a popping noise radiated from her, causing Trina to cringe.

"That sounded like it hurt…"

"Not a bit! Felt nice, actually." Trina raised an eyebrow as Tori bounced in place and grinned at the two. "So! You two are officially a couple now? You don't know how happy that makes me!" Trina blushed and leaned her shoulder against Sinjin's, taking his hand in hers. Tori let out a squeal and bounced once more. "I can't wait to tell the others! They're going to be so happy."

Trina was skeptical if they'd really be okay with it, or if they'd mock the relationship. She had to remind herself that they were being given the benefit of the doubt now and she shouldn't be so rash in her judgments and assumptions of them. However, this didn't mean she was going to trust them completely, she would be watching them. "I guess tell them…see what they say…" Tori frowned at this comment and breathed out slowly.'

"You think they're going to mock you, don't you? Trina, I wish you didn't have such a bad view of them, but I can understand why…I don't think they will. I think they'll be happy for you."

"I think so too, really. That's why I say we may as well let them know if you want. Otherwise, I say let them figure it out on their own, we _still_ have to find Sarah and free her. I think _maybe_ we can convince Aveline to get in that van with us and go to Orlais to put an end to Zander."

"It's Aveline." Tori put her hand to her waist and smirked confidently, "She'll go if it means saving her friend. You know I'm going, because in a way Bethany's related to me. I'm guessing Sinjin's coming along for the ride?"

"Of course. He's able to use healing magic, we can use him." Trina squeezed his hand and looked up to him, smiling cheerfully as he nodded his head. "Jade too. I think she should come along."

"Didn't see that decision coming."

"Yeah…" Neither did she, considering how harshly she judged Jade before. "She is showing promise, so I'm beginning to…I don't know…like her a little bit. I'm trying to take more chances now than I was before. Listening to my heart instead of my head, you know? It's…a little different, but it feels good." She still had _some_ skepticism, but it was due. After hearing her ancestor's words, she had a lot more strength to combat these issues of hers. Now with Sinjin at her side, she also had a confidence that was beginning to grow. What would happen if she became friends with Jade? Did she even _dare _ to think of it?

"What about the rest?"

"Eh, one step at a time…"

"No, I mean, who are you thinking should come along? You, me, Sinjin, Jade, and Aveline make five…Our XTerra has room enough for eight, nine if one wants to squeeze in between two people."

"We _have_ to take Merrill, she's the only one that knows blood magic. Even if she's trying to quit…it's the only way." She couldn't possibly forget the ritual needed. It was her blood that had to be absorbed by her ancestor, thereby awakening her. "Cat appears to have grown close, and we could use another mage, so we should have her along. Andre's grown strong as well, so maybe him…"

"Once again Beck and Robbie are on the sidelines, then?"

"Yeah, unless someone wants to conjure up a _second_ car for them?"

"It's a thought."

"We'll see, I can just picture trying to convince the ancestors to get in one of those things." The trio laughed and Anders looked over with a fearful gaze, he'd already heard about their joyride from the prior day. He didn't have reason to fear, though Trina might upset the ancestors a bit by driving too fast. "Can you picture trying to teach them to drive, Tori?"

"Oh dear god, they'd say we're torturing them!" Trina started laughing, not stopping for several seconds until she saw her sister staring at her with a look of contentment on her face. She raised an eyebrow, concerned that Tori was staring at her for some strange reason. "Something wrong? Why are you staring at me like this?" Tori had a wide smile and raised eyebrows. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No reason, I just…haven't seen you so happy like this in a _long_ time. I like it, I really am glad you're happy." Tori stepped forward and hugged her neck, taking her by surprise. "Is it Sinjin? By the way, I'm proud of you too, taking that step…you know I've always looked up to you, right?" Tori stepped back, gazing at her with admiration and awe. Trina's cheeks began to burn once more and she tore herself away, chuckling nervously.

"Oh stop, I'm just in a good mood is all." She looked to Sinjin and began to feel a wave of joyous emotions sweeping through her. She felt like singing and dancing, announcing her love from the highest mountains. "Yes though…"

"Yes what?"

"Yes, Sinjin makes me happy."

"Good." Tori walked in stride towards Sinjin and looked him in the eyes for a minute before poking him in the chest. "I'm _trusting you_ not to hurt my big sister. I might act naïve at times, but I can be a demon worse than anything you've seen. Trina is the world to me, and I know you won't hurt her, but I'm just telling you…to watch your back." Trina rolled her eyes and sighed and Sinjin nodded.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he replied. "I think she was listening to Shakira last night, she started humming in her sleep last night."

"I was listening to her for a long time. You know, Tori, you and daddy never really heard some of her softer tones."

"Shakira? Soft?" Tori seemed skeptical, so Trina went on to explain the greatness of her idol.

"I love Shakira because there's two sides to her music. One side is that wilder side you'd see with songs like _Loca, Rabiosa, _and so on. The other are the soft and impacting Latina music, the hidden gems in her music about love, trust, and so on. Like her songs _Despedida, Dónde Estas Corazón, _and many others. Lindsay introduced me to her, and her softer music is what's helped me get through a _lot_ of emotional crap in the past." Tori breathed in and hummed, contemplating the thought. "I could go on and on about her music, trust me, you don't want that."

"She'll never quit talking about her," Sinjin teased. Trina laughed and Tori shook her head, chuckling as Trina playfully nudged Sinjin. She was ready to get a move on, but Anders was still healing patients. She wanted to travel to Orlais with everyone. The other two followed her gaze and drew out a heavy sigh. Anders's hands were hovering over someone's chest, glowing white. "I guess if we're waiting on him, It'll be a little while."

It was about an hour wait, but it wasn't painfully long. They enjoyed a brisk walk around Darktown and had some time to discuss what things might be different now that Trina and Sinjin were a couple. Not much would change, aside from the fact that the two would be dating and both planned to take it a step at a time. They definitely did not intend on being sexual with one another, that could wait.

When Anders was finished, Trina had everyone meet with them outside Kirkwall where the car was sitting. When she revealed the vehicle, the ancestors, minus those who'd already seen it, were not fond of it. "We have to travel to Orlais and I think a quick trip rather than several hours walking, will be better."

"They could get carsick, couldn't they?" Robbie asked while eyeing the vehicle. "That only seats eight, I thought you wanted all of us to go?" Sinjin leaned against the car and motioned to Cat and Tori.

"We're going to recreate a second car for leftovers. Robbie, you and Beck will drive that second car with the remaining ancestors." It was probably best that Beck stay in a second car with Robbie, Trina was well aware the dislike Sinjin held for the man had never truly gone away.

"So we're all getting in those things?" Merrill hooked her finger over her chin and studied the car with growing anticipation. "I'm not sure how I'm going to like that. Is it safe?"

Varric laughed and threw his hands up, "What's the worst that can happen, right?" He walked around the vehicle, pausing to raise his eyebrow at dark red splotches on the hood. "Is that blood?"

"We killed a few darkspawn the other day," Jade remarked. "Ran them over with the vehicle. The car is definitely safe, demons can't get you easily. A vehicle can sustain quite a bit of damage. It can create a lot of carnage, making things easy for plowing through hundreds of demons." The ancestors were hesitant, but eventually agreed to give this 'car' a try. Jade turned to Trina and motioned at her. "Who rides with who?" All except Bethany were here, since Bethany couldn't leave the Circle to be here. The Circle was in the Gallows anyway, where Meredith and Orsino were stationed. They'd bring Sarah to her later.

"The car _can_ fit eight people, but that's the max. So we'll make a second car to deal with the remaining. I'm obviously taking the Nissan. Tori, Sinjin, Jade, Aveline, Merrill, Isabela, and Sebastian. I want you guys with me." Trina motioned to an empty spot where she wanted the three mages to create the second car. "In the second car, probably a second XTerra would be best. Andre, Beck, Cat, and Robbie you drive that with Anders, Fenris, and Varric." The group agreed with that setup, everyone was going to do their best to keep their ancestors calm while driving as well.

While driving, Trina had the Shakira playing. _Sale el Sol_ was on and everyone was relaxing to the soothing tune. In her car, Sinjin sat beside her and Tori directly behind her. Jade was seated in the seat behind Sinjin. Aveline sat between the two of them. The seats behind them, Sebastian sat behind Jade and Isabela sat behind Tori. Merrill was thin enough to sit in between without feeling cramped.

Trina studied the ancestors in the rearview mirror, they all appeared to be doing breathing exercises while gazing around the car and studying the seats. Their eyes were wide and anxious, making Trina feel just a bit guilty over having to have them come in the car. She had to wonder how the people behind her were doing, hopefully no worse for wear.

For the ancestors, they weren't driving too horrendously fast, but still faster than they would be walking. Everyone's weapon had been placed in the back of the vehicle as well, figuring it would likely be more comfortable for them.

When they drove through the wounded coast, Trina had to stop. Her father was sitting outside the portal, which was startling. The others saw him as well and wondered what he was doing there. She exited the vehicle and walked over to him, he seemed to brighten upon seeing her and quickly pushed himself up.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" She studied the rope around his waist and raised an eyebrow as she trailed it with her eyes. It seemed to disappear where the portal was hidden.

"I missed my daughters."

"We missed you too, Dad." She hugged his neck and grinned. "How long has it been?"

"Only a couple days."

"Wow! It's been like almost two weeks here. We just found out where the guy is that has our ancestor." David nodded and looked past her to the cars and raised an eyebrow. She followed his gaze and laughed, "Of course some of the group got to be mages. They conjured up a car for better travel, the ancestors agreed to come along…"

While on the break, some of the ancestors in the second car piled out of it and were clasping the ground. She shook her head and looked back to her father, still grinning at him. David smiled back at her and raised his eyebrows. "You're glowing. What am I missing?"

"Sinjin and I are dating now." His jaw dropped and his eyes shot over to Sinjin in the car. Sinjin waved nervously and he slowly recovered, giving the man a nod of approval.

"Well. If he makes you happy, then I'm happy. I trust him to treat you right. He knows what happens to men that hurt my daughter."

"Yes dad, he does."

"I suppose you have to go…will you be coming home soon?"

"Very soon, I hope." He hugged her once more, bringing a tear to her eyes. Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt a lingering sense of longing, she wanted to be home with her dad. "I miss you, Tori misses you…everyone misses their families."

"We all miss you kids too. I have something for you…in case of emergencies." She pulled back watching him reach for his waist. Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes froze on the 9mm beretta in his holster. There were no guns in this era, at least no modern ones. She learned to shoot guns from her father, who would take her out to the woods when she was just a girl. She wasn't a great shot, but she could at least fire one off. "Just emergencies…"

"They don't have guns here."

"I know. I want you to be safe."

"I understand." He placed the gun in her palm and looked into her eyes, smiling proudly. "If I _have_ to use it, I will…I don't think I will, we have weapons here. Swords, daggers, _staves. _Not sure how a police standard gun is going to help." She pushed the gun into her boot after putting the safety on. "I promise we'll be safe, but you need to go back home and stay there. It's dangerous on this side."

"I know. I worry about you girls."

"I won't let anything happen to Tori, and I'll be fine." She hugged him once more, then started pushing him back to the portal. He stopped at the portal and turned around to her.

"I love you girls."

"Love you too, Daddy. See you soon?"

He nodded and breathed in, "Soon." With that, he turned around and made his way back through the portal. She started for the car, stopping to take one wistful look at the portal. She wiped away a tear in her eyes, then moved back for the car, motioning that they could continue their travel. As she got back in the car, Tori reached over and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What did Dad give you? We didn't see."

"It was nothing…I don't think I'll be needing it, so no worries. Dad's been missing us, it's only been a few days for him, though."

"I miss him too, hopefully we'll be able to go home soon after this. I'm tired."

"So am I."

* * *

So they're on their way. What did you think of ol' Mr. Vega coming through, perhaps she won't have to use the gun? Also, convincing the ancestors to ride in a vehicle, such fun!


	33. A Hero Awakened

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 33 (A Hero's Awakening)

They parked outside the gates of Orlais and cloaked the vehicles so nobody would ask any questions. Aveline informed them that this was the place they had visited recently where a man named Duke Prosper nearly had them all killed. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about running into the man here, since he already passed. "We're looking for someone who might know where this Zander is living." Aveline sheathed her sword and walked away from the cloaked vehicle.

"I went by the Launcet home after you all just to confirm information. They told me where we might find the home." With that, Aveline began to lead them into the city. "There have been reports within the Orlesian city guard that the De Launcet estate is shrouded in mystery." Trina raised an eyebrow at Aveline and crossed her arms.

"You get reports from the Orlesian Guards?"

"Yes, every City Guard needs to know what's going on in other towns on the off chance they may be needed to help a fellow town."

"Makes sense." It was like that back home as well. The city police would often go to another town if assistance was requested. They probably arrived faster than the guards in this timeline "So their mansion may be something of a taboo?"

"Basically, there have been reports of people disappearing in that place, and whenever teams are sent in to investigate, they never come back. They just leave their post. One report stated a guardsman returned with a completely different personality and no memory of his past life." Disturbing news, to say the least, but Trina wasn't wavering. They were this close to getting her ancestor out of that hellhole, she wasn't letting some horror tales scare her off. However, all the experimentation explained one theory as to how Sarah was about to mentally connect with her the prior night. "If we go in that house, we have to be very careful. We want to come out in one piece."

"We don't leave that place until we find further news about Sarah. Or if she's there, we leave with her."

"I think we can all agree to that."

Upon reaching the home, they found the front door open and were met with a rancid odor. They entered with extreme caution and found a revolting sight that made Trina's stomach lurch. Blood was smeared all over the walls, floor, and _ceiling_. There were bodies and skeletons hanging from the wall like decorations, or _ornaments._ She listened to the others groan, some even began asking where they could go to vomit.

"This guy is nuts…" There were stairs leading upwards, while a nearby doorway led down into a basement of sorts. She wasn't sure which way to go, and figured this could potentially be answered with a coin flip. "Furthermore, where _is_ the guy anyway? You'd think he'd be coming around the minute visitors stepped in."

"I prefer him not coming around actually," Robbie muttered. He grabbed his bow from the quiver attached to his back and began to scan the house with a nervous moan. "I would prefer to be somewhere without the dead people. I'm not the only one that sees the dead people, right?"

"No, we all see them, and I wish we weren't."

"I don't like this, Sis…" Tori moved an arm around Trina's while carefully stepping over a fresh body. "Where do we go from here? Basement?"

"That's what I'm thinking…" The group made their way down the rickety wooden steps, praying they weren't moving down some trap. When they made it to the area, Trina was immediately stricken with a familiar sensation. It was as though she'd been here before, in her dreams. "I think this is it…"

A cold chill struck her and descended down her spine. Her heart began to race and she quickly reached over and grabbed Sinjin's hand. The others looked surprised for a split second, but were too overcome with the frightful, dark surrounding to react.

As they walked further in, they found a room lit with many candles, and a glasslike casket rest in the middle of the room. Trina's eyes widened and slowly drifted towards the wall adjacent to her. There were two large portraits, one of Meredith and the other of Orsino. "Oh what a pretty little shrine," Merrill responded in a flat tone. Trina did a double take and shook her head, immediately scanning for signs that Zander was nearby.

"Okay, so Freakazoid isn't here. You know what that means…"

"He went after his parents." Cat spoke so surely that everyone was instantly drawn to her. She was holding a handwritten note with fresh ink. Cat lifted the paper up and started reading it. "My travels begin soon, the witch didn't know what she did by telling me where my parents were. When I find them…to discover why they have left me…They will suffer. I promise. When I'm done with them, I have no idea what I'm going to do with the woman in the casket. Granted it's fun waking her mental state, but it gets boring after a while." Trina's eyes flew to the casket and the others soon followed her gaze.

"Finally," she breathed, "My ancestor's right there…" She made her way to the casket and lifted her trembling hands to the surface. Tori moved behind her and put a hand to her shoulder. Sinjin stepped beside her and frowned at the casket. Trina studied Sarah's body inside, amazed to see that Zander left her there. The woman looked just as she'd envisioned, and just as she'd seen the prior night. Her cheeks were full and her chest was rising very slowly. "She's still breathing. Which means what exactly?"

Merrill stepped forward, frowning as she studied Sarah's body, "It means he left her mentally awake. I was afraid of that…" Trina shrugged it off and felt of the casket's side for a latch, or anything that would open the case. She felt Tori's hand on her wrist and looked over to see her sister gazing down at the casket.

"Better idea." Tori put her palms to the side of the glass and created a glowing light around her palms. In a flash, the top of the casket flew off and shattered on the wall nearby. Trina held her breath and reached in, cupping her hand around Sarah's. "Merrill, why is her consciousness awake, or whatever?"

"It's a blood mage thing. It looks like he was trying to find ways to wake her, but sadly there is no way for that. It _has_ to be the descendent's blood to wake her fully. As Bethany said. The most a blood mage can do is make her mentally aware."

"We came all this way," Trina narrowed her eyes and slowly pulled her hand away, "What are we waiting for?"

"Exactly what has to be done?" Sinjin asked. Concern laced his tone, and Trina understood why. Part of this whole awakening thing involved removing her blood from her body, and she did _not_ want to wind up dying. She looked up to Merrill, gazing sternly into the woman's eyes. Merrill took a deep breath and folded her arms over.

"You need an open wound and I…will drain some blood…"

"She'll be okay, right?"

"Yes. It isn't a lot of blood that's needed. It needs to be absorbed into Sarah's bloodstream, that will push out the lock that keeps her comatose." Trina's lips thinned and her eyes rolled towards the ceiling.

"So it's like a blood transfusion? Why didn't you say so…" Merrill raised an eyebrow and Trina turned fully towards her, thinking up an idea for the woman's anxieties towards using blood magic. "Merrill, blood magic may be bad. However using it in this manner to save someone's life…do you know what that is?"

"What?"

"Well in my time, there are doctors who have to save lives every day. People are in accidents, and some comatose, and the only way to survive is by a blood transfusion. Tori had to have transfusions once." Merrill chuckled slightly, shaking her head in disbelief. "Granted it's not by way of magic. What happens is there's been a great amount of blood loss, so the doctors find a willing donor that shares similar blood types and they push that blood into the patient, saving their life. So, what you're doing here…don't look at it like you're using some illegal dark power, but rather, you're saving someone's life by giving them a transfusion. Oh, and you clearly have a willing donor."

"Okay. Then give me a minute to prepare."

"All right." Trina glanced at the basement door in the distance and frowned. She wasn't certain they could trust that Zander wouldn't come back. "Beck, Fenris, Robbie and Varric…can you guys go guard the door? You too, Anders." The men nodded and hurried towards the door. Aveline walked up to the casket and gazed down mournfully.

"I'm here Hawke, I didn't fail you…I hope we're not too late."

After a few minutes, Merrill had her spells ready. Trina stepped away from the group and extended her arms, sighing heavily as she awaited the transfusion process to begin. "Jade." Jade met her eyes and Trina gave her a firm nod. "Placing some trust here. Cut me, not too deep, but enough for Merrill to be able to drain." She knew Sinjin and Tori wouldn't be able to do it, and she didn't really want to inflict pain on herself. Jade slowly withdrew her blade and walked over, hesitating for a minute before holding the tip at Trina's arm.

Jade glanced over once more and Trina nodded approvingly. Tori looked away and Sinjin remained ever-watchful. Jade pricked her arm and Trina flinched as the pain seared through her, stinging her arm. The stench of blood rushed to her nostrils and the dark red liquid began flowing from the wound. Her stomach churned and her eyes clenched shit as she ground her teeth together.

"All right Merrill, get it done already!" Merrill put her hands out, and the blood lifted from Trina's body. She started to grow faint from watching the blood coursing from her veins and body. Sinjin immediately ran to her side as she began to stumble backwards. _"Should have done this sitting…"_

An overwhelming nausea struck her as the final bit of blood left her arm. She fell back into Sinjin's arms and groaned as he put his hand over the wound. Her skin became deathly pale and her vision began to blur. As soon as his hand made contact with her skin, his healing power started to flow into her like a cool liquid. She smiled and reached up, feeling of her clammy forehead. As she met Sinjin's eyes, she moved her arms around his neck and pulled herself up. "You okay, Trina?"

"I'll be fine. Thank you." Trina looked to the casket with great alarm, Sarah was completely cloaked by a bloody haze. The blood drenched her and started to seep into her skin. Trina staggered away from Sinjin, letting him slowly release her. She leaned over the casket, gripping the edge with white knuckles. Silence loomed over the room as the last of the blood poured into Sarah's body.

Several seconds later, Sarah's eyes started to flutter. The tension in the room evaporated and everyone let out a sigh of relief as the woman's eyes shot open. Sarah reached out, grabbing the sides of the casket, and slowly sat up, groaning loudly. Sebastian rushed to her side, "Sarah." Sarah swayed to the side away from him, wincing for a second.

"Not so sudden," she muttered. Sarah put her hand to her forehead and looked up at the others. Trina turned her lips up into a bright smile and reached for Sinjin's hand, clasping it tight. When Sarah met her gaze, she smirked and tilted her head to the right. "I remember you, almost like a dream. I see you're smiling…Wait, so what happened to me? I remember a witch…"

"Erin Lamont. She came from our time and put you in that coma." Trina motioned to Merrill, "She helped wake you. Unfortunately blood magic had to be used, but it saved your life."

"That's fine. I'd rather it be used to save someone than to kill them…" She rubbed her temples once more, groaning softly. "God my head…That bastard…No offense meant."

"You know who he is?"

"Yes." Sarah glanced to the portraits on the wall and shuddered, "He told me once while waking me mentally. He's left a while ago. He's going to Kirkwall now, to deal with them…We have to stop him."

"We will, but first, we need to make sure you're okay."

"I'm _fine_. I need to get out of this damned casket. Tell me everything going on while we move to Kirkwall…"

"We will."

"Thank you. For everything you've done up to this point." Sarah started to leave the casket, being helped by Aveline and Sebastian. She took a shaky step forward and Trina quickly put an arm around her stomach and a hand on her back, helping to steady her. "So. My descendent?" Sarah scanned her up and down, smirking slightly. "Wearing my armor no less…Tell me, is Rachel safe? My child?"

"Yes she is. Gamlen also, and you have a cousin too." Sarah's eyes grew and she let out a surprised cough. There _was _quite a bit she missed while in that coma. "I'll tell you on the way back. We need to reach Bethany, and warn Meredith and Orsino."

"Right. Assuming we can reach them before Zander."

"Oh trust me, we'll get there much faster." The ancestors paled and Sarah eyed her with suspicion. "Anyway, you should probably know the story behind what happened with Meredith and Orsino. I don't know what it'll change, if anything, but you need to know why Zander is the way he is."

"All right. Tell me, then. I have a feeling I missed a lot…"

"You have, so let's get you home so you can recover."

* * *

So Sarah is finally free, now they just have to stop Zander before he goes on a murderous rampage. Let me know your thoughts


	34. Fallen

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 34 (Fallen)

"What in the hell am I in?" Sarah was clutching the handle of the door and staring at Trina with wide eyes. All in all she was handling this much better than even Aveline when she first started riding. Trina glanced over with a chuckle and returned her gaze to the road. Those in the car now were the same people as before, except Merrill had switched over to ride in the second car. Trina wanted her ancestor with her. Sarah swept her hair back and sighed heavily, "Okay forget that. Just tell me what I've been missing…and how long I've been out…"

"Fortunately not that long, I think. It's probably been a couple weeks now. We spoke with Meredith, Orsino, the Grand Cleric, and even your Uncle. You're going to want to visit him, he's been beside himself with grief." Sarah raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.

"I'm surprised, Gamlen's worried about _me? _Then again, no matter how hard he tries to hide it, he really does love his family. Gamlen, Bethany and I…we're all any of us have left."

"Actually you have a cousin, Charade. Gamlen had a daughter he didn't know about." Sarah's eyebrows shot up and a smile stretched out onto her face. "He also was pretty happy to know the line continued on down the way. Five hundred and sixty years…and it's not going to end with me or my sister." Though she thought she'd end up an old cat woman at the rate she was going. Sarah looked to the seat behind Trina, where Sinjin was sitting.

"This is the man you say you're with now? He treats you right?"

"Yes. We're going slow though, It's…kind of frightening for me."

"Thinking about the last people you were with?" Trina slowly nodded and Sarah reached over, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. Sarah smiled reassuringly, a somewhat comforting gesture. "If it is possible, try to put them out of your mind, for they do not mean anything any longer. They did things that were wrong, treated you badly, and now you have a man that treats you well. I'd say that already means he is more important than any of those men you mentioned could ever hope to be."

Her cheeks flared up and she started to smile, "He is. One of the few guys I feel like I can trust. Took your advice…let my heart lead for a bit."

"Good. I'm glad. How are you doing with your sister's friends?" Trina glanced to the rearview, studying Tori and Jade in the back seat. She gazed at the car behind them, glancing over Beck in the driver's seat.

"Slowly getting better. I know they're trying, at least…"

"Give it time, if what they say is what they truly feel, then your relationship with them will get better. Just remember, you have to try and build something as well." She understood that loud and clear, friendships and relationships were two way streets, and she was done using the 'victim' role as an excuse for avoiding people. "So, tell me…you've found some information about Meredith and Orsino?"

"Yes. Elthina told us the story behind them, and Orsino actually uses blood magic…by the way." Sarah rolled her eyes and let her head fall back on the headrest of the seat. "Turns out that Meredith and Orsino were in a brief romance when they were younger, then Meredith got pregnant…"

"Okay."

"She was a fresh templar recruit and he was the Fight Enchanter's right hand man, so to speak. So their romance was a bit of a secret thing, she even kept the baby to herself. Basically what happened was, when the child was born he denied it. She was going to bring it up with the First Enchanter and Knight Commander at the time, but he started going crazy trying to kill her and the child." Sarah's eyes went wide and the pitch in her voice rose.

"What!"

"She ran into the Chantry where Grand Elthina was a mother at the time, this was a couple years before she became Grand Cleric. She was bloody from a prior assault and clutching her child in her arms. Orsino came in trying to find her, and Elthina put him in his place. Unfortunately the last grand cleric overheard everything and thought best, for political reasons regarding Orsino, the child be taken away. It was that woman who got rid of Zander…neither Meredith or Orsino know of his current existence. She gave him to the Launcet family and he pretty much terrorized them into leaving Orlais altogether."

"I see. So he's pretty dead set on killing his parents, and those two are at each other's throats, which doesn't help matters any…'

"Erin Lamont thought she'd be getting something else to happen by providing him the location of his parents. So ironically enough, we have to save the lives of two people who are going to cause Kirkwall the greatest distress."

"All this over a man's hatred…"

"Ugh, men…" Her eyes flicked to the mirror where Sinjin was watching her, chuckling to himself. "No offense, Sinji."

"None taken." Trina almost felt bad for having to save Orsino's life, and Meredith, though she didn't feel too bad about that. She wanted to know if there was any way to actually talk Zander out of what he was going to do, but the level of crazy he was at, she wasn't sure it was possible. "By the way, is that him up ahead?" Sinjin pointed past the two and Trina narrowed her eyes on a figure walking in the distance. Sarah growled and quickly nodded.

"That's him. Zander. Who would have thought this thing we're in could catch up to him."

"It's a car," Trina replied, "It'll be invented in a few hundred years. It's a greater means of travel and can move up to dangerous high speeds."

"So you're saying it's more a danger than a safety thing?"

"Well…if you put it like that…" The others laughed while Sarah smirked. "Cars can be dangerous if not handled properly."

"You're going up against a blood mage with frighteningly strong powers while in a moving death machine. What happens when he blows the vehicle away?"

"We go flying…" She started to pale and Sarah let out a deep, exasperated sigh.

"Then without further ado, I'd like to say as the first person in history to say it: _stop the car!"_ Just as Zander stopped walking and looked towards them with narrow eyes, Trina slammed her foot on the break. She heard the car behind them screech to a halt with hers. She shut off the car, and everyone began piling out. Zander raised an eyebrow and started to hiss upon seeing Sarah. "Hello Zander, it's a lot different seeing me awake, isn't it?"

"You aren't going to stop me one way or another," Zander commented. "They are going to pay for what they did to me."

"What they did to you wasn't what you think." Zander raised an eyebrow and Sarah began to move forward. "Your mother wanted to keep you, your father tried to kill both you and your mother. It was the former Grand Cleric that took you from your mother."

Zander's nose scrunched up and his eyebrows lowered as his mouth turned into a snarl. "Either way, I have planned far too long. There is nothing you can do to persuade me otherwise."

"Your mom wants to see you," Trina stepped beside Sarah and looked Zander in the eyes. She could see how crazy he was, and how much anger he held in his soul. This wasn't a man that could be reasoned with, no, he was long gone. "Zander. I know you're feeling betrayed and you probably don't believe a word anyone's going to tell you at this point, but let's not jump the gun…all right? No one needs to be harmed here."

"No! They all deserve to die!" Trina's eyes widened as his hands began to glow bright red. An explosion erupted from his body and was sent directly towards her. Tori and Sinjin ran for her, both taking the blast and throwing them into a nearby patch of grass. Her heart stopped and her eyes flew towards them. In that instant, she ran for them, kneeling at them and shaking them, trying to wake them.

"Sinjin! Tori! Come on!" Her heart began racing in her chest and tears burst from her eyes. Her body grew heavier as she studied the two, both clearly unconscious. She feared they were dead already. With that fear, she let out a loud scream, then dropped her head to Sinjin's chest, weeping over him.

Shadows fell over her and she quickly looked up, startled to see all of Tori's friends standing in a line before her. Their backs were turned and weapons drawn, as if they were standing guard over her. She let out a slight whimper, bowing her head. She looked from Sinjin to Tori, trembling as she studied the blood on their bodies. How could one blast cause so much damage?

"Don't die…please…" The sound of battle filled the air, it was clear Sarah and her companions decided there was no other choice but to fight. However long the battle lasted, Trina didn't know. She was frozen over her sister's and Sinjin's bodies, unable to react.

At some point of time, the assault turned onto Tori's friends, who were refusing to turn away from her. Her hands clasped Sinjin's shirt and her face buried into him as fear began to overtake her. She could not tell if they were breathing, she couldn't see them stirring into consciousness, and for a split second she thought their bodies were starting to lose color.

Her eyes widened as the friends began screaming, she looked up at them and screamed when she saw blood being drawn from their bodies. "No!" They were willing to risk their lives, and for what? For her? What was the point? She shook her head and looked down to Sinjin, struggling to end her weeping.

All of the ancestors were scattered across the field, but surely they couldn't be dead, since Tori's friends were still standing. She was too afraid to leave her sister's side or Sinjin's, but she couldn't let everyone die because of this.

As she debated her next move, she saw Anders running for her, ducking down to keep out of sight. "I got them Trina, don't worry." Her awareness level was down, so she wasn't truly able to listen to him. His hands began glowing and he placed each hand on each person. Trina breathed in sharply and curled her fingers at her chest, watching as a white glow swept over Sinjin and Tori. "They'll be fine. Don't worry. Just…"

Ignoring him, she looked to the friends and felt a sting of despair rising in her. Their bodies were lifting off the ground, they were sweating and groaning as blood was flying from them. What had she gotten them into? She didn't know. How could she even save them?

It was then that she remembered the gun her father had given to her, she hoped that the time would not come that she would need it. Thinking fast, she grabbed it from her boot and looked around for cover. There was a nearby tree about five feet away, it was large enough to shield her from view, and Zander was already focusing on the friends.

She made a mad dash for the tree, trusting Anders to save her sister and Sinjin. As predicted, Zander did not bat an eye. Listening to all of Tori's friends screaming, she fought to take off the safety on the gun. Their lives were now in _her_ hands. She wasn't going to let them die.

Trina pressed her back against the tree and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and feeling the sweat move down her body. _"You've got one shot at this. One shot…"_ She opened her eyes and looked down to the gun. There was no time to contemplate, there was no time for doubts. This was what her dad said was heavily involved in police officer work, the career field she wanted to go into. The ability to make the right, and tough decision in a split second moment.

Zander was a threat, not only to Tori's friends in the current moment, but to both Meredith and Orsino. As much as she hated Orsino, as much as he stood to represent every single man she ever dated, including Michael and _Ross_. She shook the memories from her head and narrowed her eyes. Being a police officer was also about saving lives, even if the lives you were saving were those of people who you may not necessarily like.

Trina stepped out of the cover of the big oak, spread her feet apart and aimed the gun, holding it with both hands. She narrowed her eyes and called out to Zander, causing him to stop what he was doing and look over. Tori's friends landed on the ground, hands and knees, and started clutching their chests, coughing.

"What…is that?" Zander muttered. He let out a crazed chuckle and his hands began to glow bright red. "No matter." Trina felt a sudden sting in her body and winced as a severe amount of blood began rushing from her. She clenched her teeth and fought the urge to fall to her knees. "You made a bad decision, foolish…"

"Trina, no!" Jade cried out, "Get out of the way…let us fight him…stay with Tori and Sinjin…"

Trina rolled her eyes and struggled to move her finger onto the trigger. "This time. I save your ass." She let out a grunt, letting herself fall to her knees as she watched her blood going into Zander's body. "Men…Fuck…you…" She tensed her index finger and pulled the trigger, wincing as a gunshot echoed through the air.

In an instant, it was all over. No more blood was leaving her body. She began panting heavily, watching as Zander's wide eyed expression glared at her. He was gasping for air and reaching up to his neck. Her bullet struck him in the middle of the collarbone, just above his breastbone. He fell to his knees, still gasping and rubbing his hands over the bullet wound.

In the corner of her eyes, she saw the ancestors getting up from the ground. Tori's friends were all gawking at the sight while Tori and Sinjin were slowly getting up from the ground, both still looking heavily wounded. She lowered the gun, smirking as Zander collapsed onto the ground. _"I'm going to hate having to tell your mother that you're gone…"_

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she began to fall from exhaustion. The last thing she saw before blacking out was Sarah running for her, reaching out to catch her before she fell to the ground. For now, this battle was over.

* * *

Well, it turns out that gun was pretty useful. So they had a close call, but Zander is no longer an issue. What do you think of everything this chapter?


	35. Ancestor's Guidance

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 35 (Ancestor's Guidance)

Trina moaned and slowly sat up, startled by her surroundings. She was in the bedroom of Sarah's home. She looked towards the open door and started to smile when she heard Tori's voice outside the room. She pushed herself from the bed, staggering once she got onto her feet. Nearly falling over, she grabbed the edge of the table beside her and held herself up. "Damn," she breathed out as a rush of pain shot through her body.

"Whoa!" She looked over in time to see Sinjin hurrying through the door. She released the table and turned around, happy to see him save and alive. She turned a bit too quickly, because in that instant, she became dizzy and her body grew numb, causing her to fall forward. Sinjin managed to catch her and chuckled as she looked up to him, groaning. "Careful Trina, your body's still recovering. You lost a shitload of blood back there…God we were worried…"

"Thought I wasn't going to make it?"

"Yeah. I just stepped out for some water, I come back and you're trying to walk? That's a big step." She laughed and moved her arms around him, hugging him tight. Tears began to form in her eyes, and her fingers became tangled in his shirt. His voice softened as she pressed her cheek against his chest. "How are you feeling, Trina? Aside from, possible dizziness?"

"Scared. Thought I was going to lose you and Tori. I couldn't lose you two…I am so sick of people leaving me, so sick of losing the people in my life. Just when I start thinking I can be happy…everything starts crashing around me." Sinjin helped her to sit on the bed and sat beside her, holding a protective arm around her waist. She set her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, sighing heavily. "I thought it was all gone for sure…"

"You've always carried the weight of everything on your shoulders. You've taken bad things harder than most people ever would, and the good things that have happened in your life can sometimes fade away into obscurity. What happened back there, I know you're going to want to place a lot of emphasis and fret over it, but don't. Everyone's safe, everything is okay."

"Except Meredith won't get to see her son…" She saw what he was talking about, and he was correct. All her experiences in life led her to look at the bad and to let that outshine the good. She felt guilty, sure over having had to take out Zander, but doing so she saved many lives. The lives should outweigh that, shouldn't it?

"It was probably for the best, Trina. If you think about it, Zander was so intent on murder that he would have killed Meredith regardless. He was going to kill everybody, you saved their lives, including Meredith's own. That's what matters, that you saved lives. The lives of many innocents outweighs one murderer…as cold as it sounds."

"Could he have been saved?"

She glanced to the door and saw Sarah leaning against the frame, arms folded and a soft smile on her face. "You know, I wonder that myself many times." Sarah walked into the room and sat on the other side of Trina. Sarah looked to the wall and exhaled. "Whenever I come across a fight, I have to asses the situation. I always ask myself, 'can this person be saved'? Sometimes the answer is 'no'. Sometimes you have to take someone down in order to save lives." Trina bowed her head, only raising it back up when she felt her ancestor's hand on her shoulder. Sarah gazed at her with a comforting gaze. "Life is full of difficult decisions, and every day you have to make tough decisions. Being strong isn't about having all the courage in the world, or saving everyone possible, even the bad guys. It's about having the guts, having the power to make the tough decisions, the right choices…If that means having to take one life in order to save many, then that's what you have to do. No one should ever have to be put on the spot in that case, but sometimes it is inevitable. You saved a lot of lives out there…"

"Thanks. You know…you're going to save lives too." Sarah chuckled as Trina looked up to her, full of respect and admiration. There was still the inevitable war that was coming, and Trina already knew the outcome, but the outcome was better for everyone. She didn't want to think too much about it, she didn't really care for over-thinking things. "Dad's always told us stories about you, about the others, and I have always looked up to you…sometimes I wanted to be just like you." She chuckled nervously and reached up to brush her hair back from her face. Sarah beamed with pride. "I never really figured you had trouble making those hard decisions, as you say, but I guess I see how it goes."

"Thank you. Yes, it's not easy. There are a lot of things I've done that I regret, but when I look at the bigger picture, I see how a lot of my choices and decisions come together for the better. You just have to pick yourself up and keep going."

"I know." She glanced to the door once more and frowned. "For a second out there. I was terrified…afraid of Tori's friends being killed. I was worried about them, not because I didn't want Tori to lose them or anything, but…weirdly enough, I was just worried. _I_ didn't want to lose them…" Sarah clasped her hands between her knees and looked up to the wall in front of them, she smiled and nodded her head.

"Like it or not they've impacted your life, whether positively or negatively they are a part of your life. Aveline briefed me a bit more on what's been going on, and it sounds like you have been through a lot with them lately. Maybe you won't trust them right away or be on the friendliest of terms for some time, but a part of you might acknowledge their importance in your life?"

"I don't know, I don't want to trust them and then see them hurt me again. I don't want to see them hurt Tori again. Do I think they're going to? I don't know."

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and glanced back to her. Trina was kicking herself for being so confused over all of this. She didn't know how she felt about them, she _wanted_ to trust them and to give them a chance, but she was afraid. Terrified of them walking over her again. "Sometimes, Trina, trust isn't about having blind faith in someone. It's about having faith that there's goodness in someone, that you believe them when they say they care about you. I don't think any of them ask that you have blind faith, and I don't think any of them expect you to trust them right away, but to give them a chance doesn't mean you're saying that you will. It just means you're saying that there's a possibility in the future that you will be on good terms with them, but if they screw up, there isn't a big possibility of it."

"So it's okay if I hold them at arm's length but to be friendly?"

"Oh yes, of course. You're only watching your own heart and emotions, and that's _more_ than understandable."

"What about Lindsay? I…I don't know what to do about her."

"Lindsay?" Sarah tapped her chin, raising an eyebrow as she tried to recall their first conversation. "Ah! Yes, well, she's one of your best friends, right?"

"Was…"

"_The_ best," Sinjin reminded her. Trina laughed once and closed her eyes as she drew in a sharp breath. She loved Lindsay with all her heart, and truly wanted to reconnect, but she was terrified that she'd lose her again. She pushed her away once, she didn't want to do it again. "She was a far better friend to you than I ever was."

"True…but you stayed with me."

"She only left your side because of all the arguing over those people out there. _That_ was only because both of you were stressed out with each of your own personal dilemmas at the time. I'm pretty sure she would love to be with you again." Sarah hummed to herself and started to stand. Trina looked up to her, wanting a surefire answer.

"I would say, if you're willing to give your sister's friends a chance to redeem themselves and to try and be on good terms with them…and they're the ones who have given you all the grief, _as well as_ being the reason you and Lindsay separated, then why wouldn't you give Lindsay a chance?" She held onto her breath and glanced to her feet. It really was just her stubborn pride, and her clinging onto past things that kept her from acknowledging certain things such as this. Sarah was correct, in every way she was right. Sarah turned to her and folded her arms over, smiling at her. "Now if you must ask, I say what I've already told you." She reached over, tapping Trina on the right temple. Trina laughed once and leaned back. "Tell that brain of yours to shut up, and listen to what you feel in your heart is the right decision. Sometimes, taking a risk, can lead to the greatest things in life…am I right?" Sarah motioned to Sinjin, and Trina quickly wrapped her arms around his arm, brimming with confidence. If she hadn't taken Sarah's advice the first time, she probably never would have opened herself up to Sinjin, and she was extremely glad that she did.

"Yeah…I suppose so." Sinjin reached over and kissed her neck, sending a tickling sensation through her body. She laughed and leaned away, her knees pressed against each other and she shuddered as he leaned back, smirking at her. She playfully smacked his shoulder and looked up to Sarah once more, grinning as the woman looked smugly at her. "Yes, yes you're right."

"You're happy?"

"I am."

"Good. You deserve some happiness in your life. Now, do you think you can stand?"

"Yeah…" She started to stand up, using Sinjin's shoulder for leverage. "How is everyone else?"

"Recovering, but everybody's fine. They're just waiting for you to come out. You're the woman of the hour."

"I'm glad. Woman of the hour? Oh god..." She cringed at the thought, yet allowed it to bring a smile to her face. Before, she would love to have been the center of attention, but these days it was the farthest thing from her mind. "I guess I'd better go out there then. Have you seen Bethany or Gamlen yet?"

"Yes, actually, Aveline sent word to both of them and they came by about an hour ago." How long had she been out? She couldn't believe she missed the reunion! It didn't matter though, she was happy that everything was shaping up for them, regardless. She couldn't be happier with the news than she was already. "I believe I've never seen Bethany so excited before. You know how it is with younger sisters looking up to you…Tori won't stop going on about how much of a hero you've always been for her. I think you should be proud of her."

Trina smiled and quickly nodded, "She's my sister, I'll always love her no matter what." As if there were ever any question, she could never stop loving Tori, that girl meant the world to her.

Once they made it out of the room and down the stairs, it was Tori who first reacted. Trina was startled by her sister's joyous cry, and was practically knocked over when Tori ran over to her and threw her arms around her. "I'm glad you're awake!" Tori exclaimed, "I was so worried!"

"Well fortunately you won't have to worry anymore, everything's going to be fine." Trina breathed in slowly and looked to her sister's friends, she knew the adventure wasn't over yet. Still, she wanted them to be safe. "I guess I have to go let Meredith know about Zander, this isn't going to be easy...I'm relieved all of you are all right."

Jade chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, "We couldn't let ourselves go out like that. Besides, we had to make sure you were going to be okay. Would you believe Sinjin wouldn't leave your side for a minute?"

"Cliché, but I'm not surprised." She smirked at him and he rolled his eyes, still smiling back at her. She leaned into him, whispering softly. "I love you." With that, she kissed his chin and pulled back to Tori, hugging her little sister. "Thank you guys…for getting me back here in one piece."

* * *

So they seem to be in good shape. Now it's just time to tell Meredith about her son. Though, that war may break out soon.


	36. The Last Straw

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 36 (The Last Straw)

Trina entered the Templar Hall with Bethany, Tori, and Sinjin. It was time to inform Meredith about her son, then Trina was going to be able to return home and hopefully deal with Erin Lamont. She had a new lease on life now, a new plan and a new idea. It was still hard for her to know what was best in regards to people like Tori's friends, but she was willing to give more chances with a reasonable amount of watchfulness. Not to mention, both her father and Tori were ever watchful.

Even if she hadn't seen it much in the past, she knew how much they cared. Hell, it was Tori that gave Seth the shiner for making Robbie and Cat break it off with Trina by way of song.

"Sarah's coming soon, right?" Tori looked over her shoulders at the gate, frowning slightly. Sarah hung back a bit to look after her baby, and would be coming by shortly to see how things were going for Orsino and Meredith. "I wonder if Meredith's too lost yet…"

"As long as nothing happens to further increase the growing insanity, sure." She really did hope to be able to change whatever past there was, but she had a growing sensation telling her the inevitable was to come. "At the same time, I'd like to just go home. I'm missing dad too much now, and really would like having my first real date with my boyfriend…" Sinjin smirked and Tori beamed at the two, grinning from ear to ear.

She glanced over her shoulder at the gate and started to wonder if they ought to turn back around. The entrance to the Gallows opened after Lowtown, and for some reason, she felt as though she were to be going that way. "Hey Trina, I have a question." She glanced back at Tori and shrugged as they moving into the hallway with the offices. "Andre told me he likes me and wants to get to know me more. I'm just wondering your thoughts…"

"Really now?" This wasn't a surprise to her, Sinjin told her already of the conversation she had with Andre. "Since when do you need my opinion on who you date, Tori?" Tori put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, frowning as Trina flashed a coy smirk.

"Since you're my sister."

"Can't argue with that logic," Bethany laughed. Tori giggled and Trina rolled her eyes, smiling to cover up her own laugh. She didn't want to upset her sister by telling her she didn't think Andre was right for her, though her opinion may be a tad biased.

"I don't know Tori. I'm thinking it's like this, Andre doesn't have a whole lot of respect and seems to be as much of a ladies guy as Robbie is. I mean, you tell me how many girls he goes through in a single week." Tori flattened her lips and slowly nodded. Heaviness grew in Trina's chest, but she continued, fully wanting to protect her sister from getting hurt. "I think you should also see what Dad has to say about it too. I mean already one of his daughters is starting to date again…" She pointed to Sinjin, and Tori nodded once more. Their dad usually liked to know _before_ the fact too. Sinjin was an odd case, however, since he'd known their father for a while now. Likely, David would want to discuss dating his daughter with Sinjin either way.

"Andre _has_ been one of the ones that did you some damage in the past. So, maybe no dating him until I've gotten to see him around my family a little more? Is that fair?"

"Sure, give it some time and see how he is. Don't just jump in, I don't want to see you be another 'flavor of the week', if you will." Tori let out a sigh and the others stopped walking, pausing outside Meredith's office door. "Think about it first. I mean there was Danny, who tried to mess with me and my best friend, then went on to date you…look how that ended up. Some other guy you dated, Adam, who was a punk. Then you dated that one guy that was going between you and Carly, that girl from Seattle. I don't want you to be hurt again, you don't need the same history with guys that I have."

"Yeah…So I guess you and Sinjin feel strongly that I shouldn't date him right now?"

"That's just our opinion, sure. At the same time, you should do what your heart wants. Don't let everyone else tell you what to do." Tori smiled finally and reached over, taking Trina's hand.

"Thanks sis…I love you."

"Love you too." Bethany looked between the two with a smile and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms.

"You two have a great relationship, I'm glad to see it." They glanced over and Trina felt a split moment of joy rise up inside. Bethany pushed herself from the wall, stepping behind the girls and placing her hands on their shoulders. "Men will come and go, friends drift apart, even parents and extended relatives may fall by the wayside. Sisters, though…siblings are forever. Never forget that. Ever."

Trina gave Tori's hand a squeeze and nodded to Bethany, "We may have our moments, but I don't think I could ever forget that." Tori hugged her tight and held on with an ironclad grip. Sinjin and Bethany watched with mixtures of pride and amusement until Trina finally managed to pry her sister loose. Tori had been excessively clingy since she woke up, but truly she wasn't surprised. "I guess I forgot how much my sis needed me growing up…" More than anyone else, they needed one another. Like Trina had been when Tori and Sinjin were hit, Tori had been terrified for her when she was unconscious.

"All right enough sentimental stuff," Tori cleared her throat and started adjusting the robe Bethany had given to her to blend in with the time. "We should catch Meredith now." A guard stepped out of Meredith's office and stopped for a moment until Sinjin informed them they were there for the woman.

"She stepped out," The guard replied much to their surprise, "You may catch her, she left about a minute ago."

With that, they made haste towards the gate leading out of the Gallows and towards Lowtown where they found Meredith and Orsino at the entrance. They froze in place and Trina watched in horror as Orsino stood over Meredith, having attacked her out in the open. "What is going on here?!" She exclaimed, rushing to Meredith's side. She started to pull the woman up, seeing an enraged and wild look in her eyes. Whatever was going on was feeding into the madness already in her through that strange idol from the deep roads.

"All I did was tell him you were out looking for our son." Orsino crossed his arms and Trina narrowed her eyes. Meredith was out of breath and looked as ready to kill as Orsino did. She wasn't sure if she could diffuse this bomb. "He started attacking me, saying I was not to speak of the child…People _will_ know, Orsino."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," he growled. "Can you imagine the _scandal_ that would break if people discovered I had a child with the knight commander?" Trina had to wonder if this person was an ancestor of one of her exes, he reminded her of them to great expenses, though she was certain he didn't have any other descendents.

"It doesn't matter anyway," She muttered. The two looked over at her, beckoning for her to clarify. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Meredith, I didn't want to have to tell you like this…Zander did have Sarah, we rescued her, but it was at great cost. Almost everyone on our side nearly died and Zander…didn't survive the fight…"

"What!" Meredith's eyes widened and she slowly fell to her knees, clutching her hand to her chest. Orsino was stunned, but his lips were slowly beginning to form a cocky smirk as Meredith wept for the son she would never hold. "I-It can't-I don't want…" Her hand flew to her mouth and she wept bitterly. Trina's heart broke at the sight and she moved her hand up, patting Meredith on the back.

"I'm so sorry…Look, he was planning on killing both of you. I don't know if he could be talked out of it, we tried but he was adamant." The woman buckled over, holding her arms around her waist as Orsino began to chuckle. Trina felt a rush of anger run through her as she shot him a glare.

"I shouldn't be surprised," the man snarled. Trina sneered, believing she herself should not be surprised that Orsino was acting as an asshole in this moment. How could he not even care about his own son's life? "At least that problem is dealt with, now we just need to deal with your problem…You still wish to expose my secrets?"

Meredith let out a wild scream, her eyes burning with rage, "You _asshole!"_ The woman broke from Trina and rose up, throwing a heavy fist for Orsino. The man only slithered back and removed his staff from his back, swinging it in an arc and slamming it against Meredith's head. Tori gasped out and Trina froze in shock as Meredith staggered back, bleeding from the blow. "Y-You…"

"As if it should come to a shock to you that I would strike you down. All you care about is eliminating blood mages and removing me from my position. That being said, I think it's clear which of us is better fit for command in this town…and it is not you."

Trina clenched her eyes as she recalled vivid memories of Michael and another ex, Ross, throwing her around. She stumbled backwards, unable to respond and help Meredith out. The only thing that pulled her out from the frightening images was hearing Sarah's voice. When she opened her eyes, Sarah was there with all of her companions, and Meredith was saying something about the Grand Cleric. Both Orsino and Meredith were trying to convince Sarah that they were right, only Sarah was already briefed about the situation.

"Sorry Orsino," Sarah helped Trina to her feet and glared at the First Enchanter. "You can't sway me to your side, not after the treatment you've given to Meredith. Crazy as she has become, I can't stand with someone who threw away his child like trash."

"What?!" Orsino cried out in rage and immediately turned to Meredith. "You told her!"

"She already knew." Meredith felt her jawbone and groaned as Orsino huffed at her. "I'm putting a stop to you, I'm going to Elthina…" Trina was sure Elthina would and could help, after all, she was Meredith's closest friend and confidant.

Just as the thought came to mind, Trina recalled her father's devastating stories. She looked to Sinjin, who was already sweating and eyeing the Chantry in the distance. Anders stepped forward, saying something about how Elthina would not be able to help. Trina heard Sinjin curse under his breath and Meredith's eyes widened in horror as Sarah questioned what the hell Anders was talking about.

In that moment, much to the horror of everyone nearby, an explosion tore through the sky. Trina studied the mushroom cloud as her heart shattered into pieces and Sebastian fell to his knees. "I removed the chance of compromise," Anders began, "Because there can be no compromise." Sinjin shouted at Anders, screaming that he'd killed all the innocents. At this point, whatever sanity had been in Meredith's eyes was gone, she'd become crazed, just as Mr. Vega's stories had always gone.

"Enough!" Meredith cried out, trembling with great force. "I officially invoke the right of annulment." Orsino cursed her, saying that she couldn't do something so drastic. What this was, was an order to purge the Circle of the mages. They would all die for what Anders had done. "The Grand Cleric is dead, slain by magic…"

Trina saw who was to blame here, however. It was not Meredith, not Anders, not the mages, but Orsino. From day one, being pregnant with Orsino's baby brought Meredith nothing but hell. Her view of mages was due to him, her treatment of mages was due to him. Now the war was finally going to break out.

As the fighting began to rage on, Bethany pulled Trina, Tori, and the friends along with her and was trying to convince them to head to the portal and get home. Trina wasn't ready, she wanted to be sure to help her ancestor fight. She knew she couldn't change the tide of battle, but at the very least, she could do _something._

Defeated, Bethany had no choice but to take her to the place where Orsino was hiding out while Tori and her friends would wait at the portal. When they arrived, Orsino was glaring down Sarah, Meredith, and the ancestors. "You want blood magic," Orsino scathed, "I'll give you blood magic!" Just then, he slit his arm with a knife, sacrificing his own blood for a ritual involving the dead bodies around him.

Everyone readied their weapons as Orsino began to laugh. The bodies on the ground moved around him, embracing him in a tomb of flesh. His voice started to deepen and curses left his lips as he repeatedly enthused over how enjoyable it would be to destroy every person there.

Thinking fast on a desire to protect those around her, Trina removed the pistol and aimed it at Orsino. He was halfway through his transformation when he turned towards her and locked eyes with her. Sweat poured down her body as her finger trembled over the trigger. "Stand down, Orsino…" She narrowed her eyes as the demon began his approach. "Stand down, you don't have to do this. Don't fight." He raised a fist at her, bringing back the memory of Michael. With a loud scream, she pulled the trigger and fired off an explosion that startled all around them.

Orsino staggered back. His transformation ceased, leaving only his lower body as a grey and bloated monstrosity. His bald forehead held a bullet hole with blood streaming down the side of his face. Trina shuddered in disgust as Orsino crumpled to the ground. She didn't want to have to pull the trigger, she would have preferred Orsino be arrested, but it was one of those times where there likely wasn't another alternative available .

Meredith narrowed her eyes, stepping away from the fray, "That is done." The woman sheathed her blade and looked to Bethany. "Champion, there is still the matter of this mage…" Sarah raised an eyebrow and Trina winced as Bethany quickly looked towards her sister. This was the moment Trina feared, but yet the inspirational moment she always enjoyed hearing of her father's tales. The moment Meredith ordered Sarah to kill her own sister and Sarah's refusal to do so.

"That's where I draw the line," Sarah moved in front of Bethany and narrowed her eyes. "No harm comes to my sister." Meredith scowled and turned away quickly, ordering Sarah to meet her in the courtyard where the final dramatic fight would take place.

Trina knew how the ending would come and opted not to watch as Meredith accused Sarah and the Templar Captain of being influenced by magic. Meredith used the powers given to her blade by the idol from the deep roads to call the statues in the Gallows to action.

It was a long and grueling battle, but eventually Sarah won out. As Meredith tried to make a final attempt to strike, the insanity from the idol became too much for her. It was as if cursed by the very same magic that struck Sarah unconscious. Meredith turned to stone and crumbled upon being touched by a templar. All the Templars bowed before Sarah and the other ancestors. The only one not there was Anders, who had been executed by Sarah for his crime.

Now that the fight was over, it would be time to start heading home and time to take out Erin Lamont. Assuming she could be found and stopped. For now, all that mattered to Trina was that her ancestor was safe, and so were her sister and sister's friends.

* * *

As far as the past goes, all is safe. Now there's one last thing for the group to deal with.


	37. Through the Portal Once More

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: Sorry for the late upload today, I've been working to get my transcript and everything transferred back to Midwestern State. I'll be working on my bachelors as of Spring 2014! Okay, without further ado, I give unto you the next chapter.

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Chapter 37 (Through the Portal Once More)

Trina stood before the portal with a confident but anxious heart. To her right was her ancestor, Sinjin and Tori. Behind her were all of Tori's friends. She was not sure why she was nervous, if not for the slight fear that things may go back to the way things were. She knew what Sarah had told her many times, she just had to trust and have faith, but also stick up for herself where needed. Tori promised things wouldn't go back to the way they were, and she knew Sinjin could somehow keep the friends in line along with her sister.

"I'm grateful for what you've done." Trina looked up to her ancestor with a proud smile, letting the woman's words sink into her heart. Sarah smiled back at her and placed a hand to her shoulder. "You're a strong woman, just like your…grandmother…" Sarah cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling nervously. "Still can't get used to that title." The others laughed while Trina shook her head, stifling a laugh of her own. She straightened herself, mimicking Sarah's strong and tall poise. Her ancestor's gaze was filled with compassion and love, tempting her to stay though she knew she wouldn't. "Whatever happens in your future, I wish you the best in everything you do. Always remember, you can do anything you set your mind to and never let anyone get the best of you. A strong, empowered woman like you…You're a leader in your own right, and I bet one day you'll have a loyal team to lead."

"I _do_ want to be a police officer, maybe work for the FBI." Sarah raised an eyebrow as Trina remembered the woman would have no idea what the FBI was, but it didn't matter. "Think of them like…a nicer and less murderous version of the Templar knights. If that even does them justice…"

"Templars do not exist in your timeline?"

"They don't…A lot of things don't, actually. I mean they used to _ages_ ago. Apparently these demon and darkspawn did too...but they were all wiped out by some force a long time ago, something not indicated in history books. No demons, no darkspawn, but I guess magic exists…though it's still something no one talks about. Taboo as it is. Elves are…well I don't know if I can say they're _gone_, rather than they're just not around. Clearly Beck and Cat exist."

Sarah laughed and Trina glanced over to Beck and Cat, both of whom were looking at their ancestors. Everyone had been saying their goodbyes and was ready to go home, but she'd been lagging a bit. "Seems like a dream, to be honest. Your timeline sounds like a place I would enjoy." Trina laughed at the admission and flashed a bright grin.

"You'd enjoy it. In all honesty, I would think this place would be a perfect timeline for me. Maybe I should stay?" With that, all of Tori's friends proclaimed their opposition and Tori latched on to her arm. She bowed her head and began chuckling at them, "Not that I ever would do that. I know I've got a life back home."

"And people who care the world for you." Sarah turned towards all of Tori's friends and scanned across them with a slow growing smile. "Every one of them followed you through that portal with you in mind, they do appear to care about you. I suppose that means whatever happened in the past, you'll just have to find a way to move on and work towards whatever future can come. I think you can do that."

"So do I. It'll take some time, but yeah…you know, you're an inspiration to me. A hero, someone I've always looked up to." Sarah beamed with pride and playfully dusted off her shoulder. Sarah hugged her and gently pat her back.

"You're an inspiration as well. I won't soon forget you. Now I believe your friends are getting antsy, and I don't want to rush you off, but your father may be missing you." Trina glanced back at the portal and nodded at the mention of her father, still she missed him terribly.

As for her thoughts on Sarah, she wished she could have a lot more time to spend with her, but it was best to not keep the woman busy when she already had things to deal with. Perhaps it was the bond, but she felt closer to Sarah than she had ever been to her own mother. Why couldn't her mom have been like her? "What will you do now, Sarah? I mean, they're making _you _viscount."

"I know." Sarah let out an exhausted, defeated sigh, and shook her head. "I'm just going to search for someone to replace me. I'll hold the position for a little while, then I'm moving on. I just want to be a mother to my child, nothing more. I'm done with heroics."

"You'll always be a hero to your children and grandchildren. You are to me." Sarah hugged her once more and wiped away a tear in her eyes before motioning towards the portal.

"Okay, you've made me tear up, now go on…before your father starts worrying." Eyeing Sarah, the perfect song for the woman came to her mind. _In My Daughter's Eyes_ by Martina McBride, she would suggest it but the woman would have absolutely no idea what the hell she was talking about! "Stay safe and stay strong, Trina."

"You too, Nana."

"Nana?" Sarah leaned back, gazing off into the sky for a second before shrugging her shoulders. "Yeah, I like that better than Grandma. Love you sweetie."

"You too." With that, she turned to the portal and took a deep breath, slowly looking over her shoulders as the others made their way over. "One more question. What's going to happen with the powers that Tori,. Sinjin and Cat have? Will they still exist?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. Hide it well, if so…I'm guessing in your timeline, Mages aren't a big issue?"

"Not an incredibly big issue, no. Considering no one thinks mages exist anymore, and those who practice witchcraft are usually not out in the open."

"So then, just don't use the magic. It could very well diminish once you cross over." Trina knew Sinjin hated his powers, though to an extent he liked having them. He, along with Tori and Cat, wanted to find a way to remove their abilities, but it wasn't likely to happen. If the magic remained, they would just have to learn to deal with it.

With one last goodbye, the group stepped into the portal. Trina grabbed Sinjin's hand and flashed a grin his way. When they made it through to the other side, they found David asleep on the couch. After they all stepped out, the portal vanished in sudden haste, startling Trina. She looked to where it had been with tears in her eyes. She would miss talking to her ancestor, but at least the woman would always remain dear to her heart. Sarah was no longer just some legend from her dad's bedtime stories, and that meant so much to her.

She started to smile and looked over to Tori, keeping her voice at a calm whisper, "Could you go turn on the coffee pot for Dad? He looks like he's been sleeping for a while…" Tori nodded and hurried to the kitchen while Trina moved for the couch. She reached down and gently rubbed her father's shoulder, causing him to grumble. "Daddy we're home now." His eyes opened and he glanced up at her with a growing smile.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you." He sat up, wrapping his blanket around himself like a cocoon. He had an ample amount of sleep still in his eyes and was opening his mouth to yawn. "What time is it? I haven't had my coffee yet…"

"Tori's making some now. We have a _lot_ to tell you." She rounded the couch and sat beside her dad, giving him a quick hug. Tori hurried over to do the same once she was done setting up the coffeemaker. He brightened some more and breathed in.

"Yeah, so do I. I found a few things out, also I found someone who might know a little more about Kirkwall and Erin Lamont." Trina's eyebrows rose and immediately she was interested. If there was _anyone_ that knew something about Kirkwall, she wanted to know. "Granted you'd have to fly out to meet the woman, she lives in Chicago and was visiting here the other day. She had to return home. We met on the LAPD chat forum."

"So someone knows about Erin? That's great news, Dad. The woman needs to be stopped before she does whatever it is she's plotting. We already put a stop to her plans back with the ancestors, so I guess now we just need to figure out what to do here…" Trina glanced over to the friends, all of whom were still standing awkwardly where the portal once was. She chuckled once and turned back to her dad. "Also in less important news, Andre would like to ask Tori out, it's her choice obviously."

"What? How is that not important?" He removed his blanket and cleared his throat, "I need a moment to process that one. I'll talk to Andre and your friends after I get some coffee, but you're right. There are more crucial things, all that I'm really happy about is that you're finally _home_. I'm sure their families will be happy about that as well. As for the whole dating thing…I'm not too sure about any boy dating you right now, Tori."

"I understand dad," Tori nodded while Andre glanced over at the mention of his name. "What about Trina and Sinjin?"

"All that can be discussed another time." David hugged his daughters again and closed his eyes, refusing to let go. "Also! I got a visit from one of your old friends, Trina…" She frowned and leaned back, folding her arms over her chest. She still hadn't given much further thought to _Lindsay_, and now another one of her old friends was coming around? "Salome and her brother, they had this theory as to what could have happened to all those mythical creatures…but more importantly, it seems they want to get back in touch with you."

"I don't know, Dad…they kind of drifted away, I'll have to think about it. Right now I'm not even sure what to do about Lindsay."

"Well you do have time to think about it." The coffee machine chimed and David quickly rose up, grinning as the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air. The smell seemed not only to entice him, but served as a reminder to both Trina and her sister that they were _finally_ home.

* * *

You can definitely figure the oneshot may go in right around here. So, important stuffs, seems somebody contacted David about Erin. As for reconnecting with old friends, sure Trina's a little gun-shy, but there's a reason I haven't had her pursue them yet, I'm waiting until close to the end of the story, which is in a few chapters XD


	38. A Woman Scorned

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 38 (A Woman Scorned)

There was a lot riding on this hunch that her father had. Trina was flying out to Chicago, Illinois with Tori, Sinjin, and Jade to meet up with her father's contact. A woman who claimed to know about not only the country that Kirkwall was a part of, but of the Lamont family, and this woman was so full of rage that even her father said he was frightened of her. Yet, if this woman knew anything of Erin Lamont and how to find her, Trina _had_ to know.

They arrived at a small house on the outskirts of town, it was a countryside home with many acres of farmland. The woman they were meeting was on the front porch. She didn't appear too old, just in her early thirties. She had short brown hair and narrow eyes. The name on the mailbox was _Blanchard_. "Are you Denise?" Trina asked while walking up to the porch. "I'm Trina Vega. My dad said you knew about Erin Lamont and of Kirkwall?"

"Yes, but it's not Kirkwall anymore." Denise stepped off her porch and looked to the right where one of her three horses were overlooking a wooden fence. "The Lamont family moved up here a couple years ago at _Erin's_ request. I no longer have anything to do with them…"

"I take it you moved here as well?"

"Yes, I had family here. This was my family's farm, after all…They came after, following after the royal family." Trina raised an eyebrow and waited as the woman motioned them inside. "Your father entered into some chat room looking for information regarding that bitch." There was a great amount of hatred in the woman's tone, and anger in her eyes. Trina also noticed a ring around Denise's finger, but her dad said Denise claimed to live alone. "Your father said he was looking for her arrest? Maybe even death? Seriously, the bitch needs to burn in hell for what she did!" Trina was taken aback by the sudden outburst, but kept it all in stride and followed Denise inside the house. "I have some tea on the stove, if you'd like some."

"That would be great. Thank you." As the woman left for the kitchen, Trina exchanged nervous glances with Tori. The interior of the house wasn't that large, the living room had a three-seat couch and two recliners on either side, framing a coffee table. The floor was wooden and the walls were painted in ember color. It was a warm home, but with a very cold presence inside. They sat on the couch and waited until Denise came back out with a tray and a couple cups of tea.

"I'm sorry for all that, I should probably explain…" She set the tray on the coffee table and sat down in the recliner. "I'm not sure exactly where to begin. Your father said she was trying to overthrow that country?"

"Yes, but it doesn't exist anymore?"

"Oh it does. A lot has changed though, I'm guessing you're referring to a country before it became some neutral place. It's Sviederbach now, neutral land created back in the early 1700s after a war between two neighboring countries."

"Sviederbach?" She recognized the name, it was on the news a year ago. Some king had been assassinated and his grandson had to step up. "Some kid rules it now doesn't he?"

"Gunther Hessenheffer and his queen, Cece. Yes…He was the heir, apparently they don't like for their kings to be anyone other than someone who is a child of the last King. His line goes all the way back to the founder and first king, and every king or queen since then. Hell, even before that a few hundred years before, I think he had another ancestor that was a king of some country. Alistar or whatever his name is…" While it sounded familiar, Trina wasn't concerned with that ancestry lineage. She had one goal in mind, and if Sviederbach was in danger, this Gunther would have to be made aware. "Gunther took the throne last year and started fixing things up since his grandfather was an apparent douchebag."

"Why is Erin so interested in this country? Any idea?"

"You got me. All I know is that the Lamont family are distant cousins to Gunther and could be the next heir to the throne if something were to happen to the royal family. Erin could possibly be trying to wipe them out to take the throne? I don't know, but that bitch got her bloody palms all over them. I think she could be controlling them, but I've got no proof…"

"What makes you think that?"

"This." Denise held up her hand, showing off the ring on her finger. Trina's heart sank as she began to sense a tragic tale coming on. "Eric Lamont, the eldest of his brothers. He and I were not quite engaged, but this was just a small ring with him saying we were exclusive. I loved that man with all my heart." Denise lowered her hand and dropped her eyes towards the table. "Inseparable. All throughout childhood and everything, I thought he was going to propose to me soon, to make it real, we talked about marriage…even his family wanted us together…"

"What changed?"

"That _bitch_, that's what!" Trina flinched as Denise cried out in anger. She put her hand to her forehead and sighed, slowly shaking her head. "I thought I forgot all about them, I thought I moved on. Then your father comes into that chatroom…I was helping the police with some case when he came online." It was a nation-wide police chat room of course, where both law workers and citizens could enter in. There was nothing exclusive about it. "Eric and his brother Steven met Erin at some gas station back in 2009, apparently she needed some help, looking like she'd been beaten or something…I'm sure it was just a ploy, but again, no proof."

"Moving on please…"

"Right, so anyway. Everything changed, Eric's personality just completely spun around. His _entire family fucking changed!_ They cast me aside like I'm _nothing_, like I was never _anything_ to them, and it's all thanks to that witch! She tainted them, I'm sure of it…there's no other explanation for them just suddenly turning from nice, pleasant, people, a happy family…to being so _vile__and disgusting!_ They abuse their own children now!

"Damn…" Still not the _worst_ crime she'd ever heard. In the previous year her father worked a very serious case. A group of high school girls murdered this boy, a lawyer's son, and butchered him like common meat products. They went to prison, but the leader of the group, a girl named Kelly, vanished mysteriously. "I've heard some pretty bad things in my life, and while that's not the worst…it's still pretty terrible. I can't do anything for the family off a hunch though." Even worse still was what happened nearly two years ago when a secret crime organization, led by a man named Chogan, tried to wipe out every celebrity on earth by way of mind control. His organization was brought down by a group of martial artists, an inspiration to Trina like no other.

"I know, I just…I'm coming out with all this because of the bitch that took my man away from me, took my _family_ away from me. I'm not usually so hateful, it's just-"

"No I understand. I'd probably react the same way. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, you know." She had her mission though, to find and subdue Erin. She already tried to take Kirkwall, and chances were it wouldn't be her last attempt at doing so. "You know, you might be onto something there…Erin _does_ practice witchcraft."

Denise raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, scoffing slightly. "Can't say I'm surprised…there are some people who practice, even I've _dabbled_ a bit in magic. Though it's mostly spells and stuff."

"Dabbled?" Sinjin inquired, his eyebrows rising up with sudden interest. "Is it possible to like…remove magical powers from someone? Do you know?" Denise looked over at him and Trina sighed. She wasn't going to complain though, as she was right with Sinjin and Tori in regards to their wanting to be rid of these 'magical' abilities.

"Remove? No, but I do know of a spell that can put a block on magical abilities. It's in a spell book, I've put it away like a long time ago because I just wasn't interested in witchcraft. Why?"

"Cause some of us don't want to have magic powers. One of our friends back home included, myself, and Trina's sister here." Denise hummed and glanced towards the hallway entrance. Her shoulders rose and fell.

"I could make a copy of the spell for you and you could use it whenever you feel like it. That's the best I can do. As for Erin…what do you guys intend to do about her? The family itself still lives here. Though they used to live in LA…kind of wish they still did. So they wouldn't be anywhere near me…"

"You don't like them anymore?" Tori asked. A forlorn expression crossed over Denise's face, and for once, her eyes grew misty.

"It's not that, I love them all, but…they're _not_ the same people that I used to know and love. So whatever they've become…I don't care for…Right now you're just not seeing me in my better days. So I apologize for that."

"We will try to put a stop to whatever it is she's doing, but I don't know what we can do." Trina was not sure if fighting Erin was the answer, but whatever it was she had to do, she had to act fast. An entire country could very well be at risk, and while she really didn't want to get involved with another country's affairs, she couldn't just sit idly by and do nothing. "I'll try and get in touch with Gunther, to see if maybe there's something to be done. If anything, he'll know what to do. I mean he _is_ ruling the country right now, so…he must have some ideas…"

"Yeah, just bear in mind, I_ have_ personally met the woman. As evil as she is, she seems like someone who won't ever give up whatever plans she has in mind…so whatever she's up to _now_, I'm not sure it'll be the last we see of her."

"I know, and I'll keep looking around for her. The best thing I know I can do is to warn Gunther. We've already screwed up her plans, so it's likely she's put herself off the radar. We will put a stop to her, and if you're right…maybe whatever spell you think she's got on that family will go away."

"I hope so, for their sake. I can't see how her involvement in their lives will be good for them. Tell you what…" Denise leaned forward and clasped her hands together, sighing heavily as she closed her eyes. "I'm scared for them. I just…I envision them being wiped out once Erin's done with them."

"If she married Eric, or as you suggest somehow forced him into marrying her instead of you…then they live together obviously. Any idea where they might be?"

"No, I've pretty much made an effort _not_ to look him up."

"Sounds fair…I'll see what I can do. If they can be saved."

* * *

So we're learning more things about this Erin woman, and it isn't good.


	39. Audience with a King

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 39 (Audience with a King)

Within a week, Trina had managed to reach Sviederbach and be granted an audience with King Gunther and his Queen. Both of whom were, surprisingly, younger than she was. What did they know about ruling a kingdom? Granted, it was none of her concern, but she had to wonder what happened to place him at rule.

She sat at a large round table with Trina, Sinjin, and Jade. Across the table was Gunther. His queen, Cece, sat on his right. His bodyguard, Rocky was on his left. Cece was holding a small baby in her arms, the infant was sleeping silently. "What is the child's name?" Trina asked. Cece looked up from her baby and grinned.

"Aveline." No relation to Jade's ancestor of course, but it still made the girls smile as it brought fond memories for them. "Princess Aveline. One day she's going to grow up and make us all proud, I'm sure."

"I bet." She leaned back and glanced up to Gunther, sighing heavily. "So the reason we're here." She folded her hands over one another on the table and straightened her back as she cleared her throat. She wanted to look tall and strong like Cece and Gunther were. Their shoulders were flat and broad, their backs straight and their chests puffed out. "I believe someone is trying to take over or destroy this country. Erin Lamont, maybe you've heard of her?" Gunther raised an eyebrow and looked to Cece for a minute, then back to Trina.

"I recognize the Lamont name from ancestry. It was a Lamont that assassinated King Astor in 1870. They've been exiled ever since, and the last I heard from any of the Lamonts was a few years ago. We received a letter from them, apparently a letter of apology that was sent to my grandfather's staff before I took the throne."

He got up from the table and walked from the room, only to return a minute later with a letter in his hand. He unfolded the paper and set it down on the table. When Trina looked at it, she could see it was an official letterhead with official return addresses and everything, and it was signed _Henry Lamont_, the patriarch of the family. The letter was dated in late 2008, before Erin ever had anything to do with the Lamont family, according to Denise.

_To the King and Queen of Sviederbach, I send this notice from the States to give you my sincerest apologies for the actions of my grandfathers and my ancestors. If you must know, my eldest has happily pursuing the idea of marriage to a lovely woman named Denise, whom I hope he will be very happy with. I believe my family to be turning around, and I give the royalty of Sviederbach my best wishes. Please accept the enclosed item as a token of our family's separation from our legacy, and know there will never be another Lamont of our blood to attempt an overthrow of the throne._

_Sincerely, Patriarch Henry Lamont_

It was a very well written letter, but at the same time, it saddened Trina deeply considering the effect that it seemed Erin posed upon the family. When Gunther started talking, she looked away from the letter and watched him lean back and fold his arms over. "The Lamont family goes back many generations and is connected to our family line. If there were no heir in my blood, they would be the first to be looked at for another heir. We've neither heard nor seen them since. You're telling me a Lamont would try and take the throne?"

"Erin forced her way into the family. We spoke with this Denise who told us that Erin used some sort of magical power or spell to control them. She forced her way into marriage with the eldest, and Denise had been thrown out." Gunther frowned and Cece put her hand to her chest, gasping softly.

"I can't believe someone would do that!"

Gunther curled a finger at his chin and narrowed his eyes, "So you say Erin could be attempting an overthrow. If she saddled with the Lamont family, it makes sense…she could be using their past against them. How would this spell be broken?" Nobody knew, the spell was an unknown and likely powerful one. It was possible that maybe use of magic could counteract it, but there was no guarantee. Plus, she really wasn't there to save the family, though she truly wanted to. "So Miss Vega, what do you propose we do? We can't very well go on a witch hunt for a woman we have no clue of the whereabouts."

"If she is not defeated, the country could fall at her hands. That's what I'm proposing, we kill her…that may also break the spell…" She wasn't sure how to locate her, she wasn't sure if killing the woman would be right, but the way it sounded was this truly was a very vile and vicious woman. Whatever made her the way she was, Trina didn't know, but she pitied anyone that would be put in this woman's path. "Because you said it yourself, if she knew every member of your family had to pass to take the throne…how far would she go?"

"I am not sure. To be honest. I've never seen this woman, never heard of her before, so…we will definitely consider her a threat." She practically leapt for joy. This was _exactly_ what she wanted, but more action still was need.

As Trina was about to speak, however, a loud cackle echoed in the air. Chills ran down her spine, and her body tensed up. Behind her a cloud of red and black smoke appeared, and a woman with long black hair and deadly eyes stepped out in casual stride.

Behind her walked two men, brothers, and their father. The father was elderly in appearance and shared the same blank expressions as his sons. Alongside the second man was a young boy, six years old, who looked positively _terrified_. He was trembling and looking away from his father. The boy had short blond hair and scars all along his arm. Trina's heart broke when she saw the boy, it was now she desperately wanted to help, but wasn't sure how. "I thought I'd introduce you to the family," Erin said with a slow smirk, "But just a part of it." She pointed to the elder son, who had wavy grey hair and hazel green eyes. "That's my husband, Eric. Beside him is his brother Steven, and his son Martin."

Trina and the others stood from their seats and glared at Erin. What was she planning? Was bringing her family here a part of some sick, twisted plot? "You're a monster," Tori declared while shaking a fist at Erin. "A demon! Take that spell off the family now! That poor boy…he's terrified of you, and for some reason, his own father!"

"Yes, well…they are not needed at the moment. I wanted to give them, and Martin, a glimpse of the castle they will rule. Very soon." Erin looked to her husband and smirked. "I won't be needing you for this dear, I can handle them."

There was a glaring expression that Trina noticed just as they made eye contact. Eric was sweating, trembling, as if something inside of him was fighting. Maybe Erin's poison could be dealt with?

The family members vanished back into the cloud of smoke as Erin turned towards Gunther and extended her hand. Her smirk grew and her eyes narrowed darkly as Gunther's hands flew to his throat. Cece screamed out and Rocky charged, only to be blown back by a gust of wind. "Soon King Gunther, this place will be mine. I heard what you said…to destroy your entire family, the Lamonts would inherit the kingdom. That…is grand…"

Trina clenched her fists and cracked her jaw. She had to swallow the fear of seeing this woman firsthand, especially considering Zander let her get used to the kind of magic that this woman could use. Instinctively, she charged towards Erin and extended her leg, throwing a flying kick into Erin's side. The witch screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her side. Gunther took a deep breath and Trina looked over, urging him to get to safety.

"We'll deal with her! Go!" She waved her hand through the air as Rocky and Cece helped Gunther out of the room. Erin's head flew up and an angry, venomous glare fell upon Trina. She was unfazed, however. "I've dealt with worse than you, Erin. You? You're just pathetic…trying to take control of an entire family…"

"The fuck you know. You don't know me." Erin pushed herself up and threw her hands down at her sides, palms upwards and igniting with flame. "I know you foiled my plan in the past, but no matter. As long as I live, I shall never quit attempting this land!" Erin thrust her arms forward, throwing blasts of flame towards Trina.

Sinjin and Tori jumped in front of her and fired off blasts of water and light, dousing the fire and striking Erin cold. As they did this, Trina rolled to the right and pulled her father's pistol from the holster on her hip, firing off a shot into Erin's right arm. The woman let out such a screech that everyone threw their hands over their ears. It was Jade that, while still struggling over the woman's scream, unsheathed the sword she had and charged towards Erin. She slashed upwards, digging into Erin's back with the blade.

The witch twisted her body and countered by striking an impressive blow onto Jade's head, sending her crashing into the nearby wall. Trina's eyes widened and Tori called out to Jade in concern. She could see Jade still breathing, but unresponsive. "That's the last any of you attempt a sneak attack on me," Erin's left hand was over the bullet wound on her right arm. Her eyes were narrow, and her chest was rapidly moving in and out. "You won't stop me so easily…"

Trina tapped the nozzle of her pistol on the side of her leg and chuckled slightly, "You nearly _destroyed _Kirkwall, not take it over. Your ancestor, Zander?" Erin raised an eyebrow and watched as Tori hurried over to Jade's side. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. "He was going to _kill_ Meredith and Orsino. That was his plan. To kill them and smear blood all over Kirkwall. That was his plan. You were no closer to taking over _then_, than you are _now_. Rather if we hadn't succeeded, there wouldn't _be_ a Kirkwall for you to take over."

"You lie."

"No, we were just there. Nearly died because of Zander, but one thing rings true…we stopped him just like we're going to stop _you_." She raised her pistol to Erin and wagged her eyebrows. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. What's your choice? Better yet, why don't you tell us why you're so obsessed about a kingdom."

"It isn't about a kingdom," Erin scoffed, "It's about _control!__Dominance!_ If I have a kingdom, I have even more to control."

"Oh. So one family wasn't enough for you?"

"Fuck you." Erin swung her hand through the air, dragging trails of blood behind her finger. The blood hardened into blades and shot out at Trina. She quickly leapt to the side, barely escaping the catlike slashes. She countered with another gunshot that struck Erin in the left shoulder. The woman cried out again. Dust began to fill the room as her hollow eyes burned into Trina. "You bitch…you'll pay for that! You'll pay!"

Suddenly Erin lifted from the ground, lightning and dark clouds began appearing all over the room. Trina's head jolted up as she heard Sinjin shout out, he'd been hit by one of the lightning bolts. Concern filled her heart as she searched the hazy room for any sign of him, or Erin. "Shit…Sinjin where are you!"

"Right here," he grunted, "I'll be fine. I swear to god, I hate magic so much."

Trina started moving towards her voice when she felt a powerful jolt to her stomach. Her eyes widened as she staggered back. "No," she whispered, remembering how Ross took her years ago. Striking her, then grabbing her from front. She clenched her eyes and shook her head, growing sick to her stomach, screaming as she fell to her knees. She heard Sinjin and Tori call out to her, asking if she was alright, but her mind was going through the heart wrenching memory.

Ross had thrown her down to the ground. When she looked up, Erin was flying towards her, but she looked like her ex. A trick of the mind, but a nightmare to Trina. "No…" She screamed as he grabbed her and threw her on the ground, hovering inches over her. Trina shook her head, struggling to push. "Get off!"

"What's wrong?" Erin asked, "You were fighting so well. You've got no fight left in you?"

_Those words._

_ They burned her to the core. Ross's words._

_ Did Erin realize?_

_ NO_

Trina let out an ear-piercing scream as Erin lifted her hand, flames appearing in her palm. What Erin had done, without realizing, was create the very scene from Trina's nightmare. The one event in her life, over all others, that she could never forget. "Get off, Ross!" She cried. Erin froze, raising an eyebrow as Trina continued to struggle and push. The witch began to put two and two together, but never got a chance to react.

"Get the _fuck_ off my sister!" Tori exclaimed. Cursing was rare for Tori, but it was what began to slowly pull Trina back into reality. She began panting, looking around as several wind tunnels appeared throughout the area, sucking up all the dark fog created by Erin.

To her right, she saw Sinjin, huffing angrily and glaring down at Erin. He lifted his leg and kicked Erin in the chest, kicking her off. As Erin landed on her back, Sinjin snapped his fingers and pinned her wrists and ankles with magic.

Trina whimpered as he knelt beside her and took her hand. Tori hurried to her side and stood protectively beside her, Jade simply watched from the wall with wide eyes. Trina withdrew her hand, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself. "Trina, listen to my voice," Sinjin whispered. "You're safe…Erin's pinned, no one can hurt you. You're still in the Sviederbach castle. Look, my hand…" Her eyes slowly moved to Sinjin's hand on the ground. It was relaxed and unmoving. She carefully reached over and put her hand over his. "Your sister's here too."

She nodded and cleared her throat, scanning the room, then turned her glare to Erin. She wiped her eyes with her arm, still trembling. "Is she…is she…"

"She's not moving," Tori replied. "Her magic's completely gone." Trina looked to Sinjin's warm, comforting gaze. His smile soothed her and pulled her back to him, back to where she was.

"I'm right here Trina, nothing has you."

"I'm not weak, I can't be-"

"You're not. You were caught off guard, that's all. You're strong." Tori reached over and helped her to her feet. As she started to regain her composure, they looked over to Erin's body. "I'll be glad to get out of here, though."

"Yeah…I'm sorry about what just happened. I…I don't think Erin knew what she was doing. The fog, darkness, I-" She put her hand to her forehead, her stomach was still nauseous and her heart was pounding with excessive force in her chest. She was still scared that _he_ would show up, though she knew it was impossible. She had to tell herself that, over and over, in hopes that it would still be true. "I lost it. Moving on though…"

She hated for anyone to see her vulnerable, and now, _Jade_ had seen it. Jade slowly limped over, rubbing her hip where she struck the wall. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's _fine!" _Trina snapped, immediately regretting it. Jade didn't flinch. "I'm sorry Jade."

"It's all right…" Jade moved to Erin's body and peered down, frowning slightly. "I think she is dead. She's not moving and her chest sure isn't breathing." Erin's body began to sink slowly into the ground, any and all traces of her vanished with her.

Minutes later, Gunther and Cece returned to find the room in shambles. Gunther let out a sigh and moved his hand up to his forehead. "God…is it over?" Trina glanced over at him, still a little wary of any man's voice or presence in the room. She shrugged it off the best she could and re-holstered her gun.

"Yeah, it's over. I don't think Erin will be a problem anymore. Hopefully, this means the curse on the Lamonts are over as well." She had a moment of weakness, she wasn't proud of it, but at the same time she was glad that everything was okay. Needless to say, Trina could not wait to get back home. "The threat to Sviederbach is over. Thankfully."

"Yes. Thank you. Please feel free to come visit anytime."

"Thank you…don't take it the wrong way, King…but I don't think I want to come back to this castle anytime soon. On the off chance that Erin is still alive, which I doubt-"

"If that's the case, we'll pursue her and put a warrant out for her arrest."

"She looked pretty dead to me," Jade muttered. "I think we're good."

Trina nodded while Tori and Sinjin smiled. "I agree." She moved closer to Sinjin and gently rest her head on his shoulder, holding her arms around her stomach and sighing heavily. "Besides. I feel sick, tired, and just want to go home to my daddy and baby sister."

"I'm feeling like home too. Glad we could be of some help, King." Jade sheathed her blade and shook Gunther's hand. "Keep in touch if anything more happens."

* * *

So, Erin has been dealt with, and the country is safe from danger. For now, with its heritage being Kirkwall, who's to say? In Varric's immortal words "I'm beginning to think this place is in love with crisis." At least Trina, Tori, and all others can relax. There are a couple chapters left.


	40. Flash Forward: Erin's Execution

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: Okay this chapter is a bit different. It starts out in present day, but also includes Erin's true death. Remember there were too many coincidences tied in, Erin is the same Erin from Sviederbach Chronicles: Final Installment, so here we go. Just for this chapter, we return to Trina in the present day after this.

Chapter 40 (A Flash Forward: Erin's Execution)

Erin appeared in her living room, clutching her sides and vomiting onto the ground. She was covered in blood and sweat, as well as a tiny hint of remorse. Even still, she wasn't finished. "H-Heal…Heal…" Her wounds were closing, but incredibly slowly. "Eric!" The man came rushing from the other room, kneeling at her side. He looked to her, not with love or compassion, but with hollow and angry eyes. "Eric I'm hurt, I need…I need some help…"

"I'm here for you," Eric remarked. "Do you need me to call the paramedics?"

"No…I can heal…I just need help walking." Eric nodded and helped her to her feet, slowly guiding her towards the bedroom. Her lips curled into a smirk and her breathing began to change from labored to regular. "Oh Eric darling, I failed to destroy the King, but that's okay. I've already begun to think of another plan…"

"Oh? What is that?" Erin glanced to a picture hanging from the bedroom wall. It was of Eric and his two brothers, each with a child. Martin, the eldest, stood at his father's side while holding his hand and grinning brightly at the camera.

She didn't have to use magic to control children, she controlled them in a different way. In a way, her spell had rolled over onto them, but her hold may not be as strong, that she worried about. "Strike when they least expect it. Years of preparation. But first…a lot of important people believe I'm dead…" She waved her hand through the air, trailing white beams from her fingers and chuckling sinisterly as Eric watched. "I'm wiping my presence from the radar. If there are any little witches out there…" _Denise_. "They will never find us…"

Denise was no threat to her, despite having told Trina Vega of her. The woman would likely never appear again in her lifetime. In which case, there was no use in hunting her out or killing her. She couldn't go after the girl now, not after realizing what she'd done by triggering a flashback for her. There were other plans, however. "Martin...should carry on his legacy…"

"M-My nephew?" Eric tensed for a split second and Erin raised an eyebrow. He cleared his throat and started to smile. "Right. Martin _must_ continue our legacy."

-_Flash Forward 2030-_

Erin still had a ferocious demeanor, her black hair was much longer now. She let out a furious scream and punched the wall, breaking the bones in her fingers. "Shit! Eric! _Eric!"_ The man came walking into the room, his eyes no longer held the same empty look as they used to. A nightmarish sign of things to come.

He looked angry, pissed, and every time he glanced at her it was with eyes so full of hatred. It all started when Eric bumped into Denise at a store. Their love for one another weakened her power over him, but now it was weakened more so that she wasn't sure whether or not she had any more control over him. It was, in a way, her fault.

She made the Lamont family abduct the royal family, hiding them all over the globe and leaving Princess Aveline and her younger brother to save them. So far, Aveline had taken the lives of almost every member of the family left in the process of rescuing her own family. Martin Lamont _had _been leading this charge, by her command, but now he was working against the Lamont family and working _with Aveline!_

What happened to make him leave her control? Simple: He met a girl, a girl named Kelly worked her petty little charms into him. She got him to _think_ for himself, to realize he was on a dangerous path. He was afraid of Erin, afraid of his family, but Kelly instilled in him the strength to go to Princess Aveline. The Princess then told him to go on the run, to hide away, and with that Erin gave up her initial plan. Now it was a hunt for Martin, to _kill him_. Both Martin and the bitch that got to him.

Her mistake, the one that made her power weaken substantially, was putting one of the hostages in the house of a witch named Dakota. Dakota had been an old friend of Kelly's, she had a daughter named Quinn, and Erin tried to control that girl. It backfired and Dakota cursed her, declaring that not only would her power be slowly drained from her body, but she would never be able to raise her hand to a woman. Meaning she couldn't fight a woman, her body would freeze up. So how, how could she kill Kelly? She'd have to find a way, and perhaps destroy the girl while Martin was watching his little lover perish before his very eyes.

"So what are your plans now?" Eric asked while crossing his arms. "You won't find him…"

"Easily." She raised an eyebrow at him and shook her hand. "I won't find him _easily_. The little prick destroyed this family…"

"Oh he did? I seem to recall my brothers dying because you wanted to destroy the royal family." Yes, both brothers perished. Though Maxwell, the youngest, perished literally by Erin's hand. Her control over Maxwell shattered, and she couldn't have that. Henry had a heart attack, and Henry's brother Chuck also became freed of her spell. To that regard, she slaughtered Chuck in the nursing home where the man's mother was. The woman she tried to kill, but couldn't because the elder raised her cane to her, ready to fight. Though the mother would die seconds later of a heart attack, her old age finally catching up with her.

All of the other children in the Lamont family were gone now, Martin was the only one who remained. Erin even lost her own son when Tyler tried to personally go after the Princess, and failed.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Accuse me of mass genocide on your own time, Eric. I've done nothing wrong."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that…"

"Oh shut up."

After a few days, she'd managed to locate Martin and Kelly in some pitiful town with Kelly's mother. It appeared that Kelly was _not_ of this timeline! Which explained why Dakota was much older than she was now. Kelly had been sent to 2030 by Dakota, for reasons beyond Erin's knowledge, and she appeared in front of Martin. A mere _distraction_, without even trying, Kelly foiled everything!

The unfortunate thing, however, when she located Martin and Kelly, someone else had already found him. Kelly's mother, Fiona, had an issue with her late husband's brother Keme. Keme was a disgusting, vile man, far worse than Erin had ever been. Rather, she had a bad run in with him through childhood, he was the very person that made her so tormented, so angry, so _vengeful_.

That's why she tried to _save_ Martin and Kelly. The man had a rifle pointed to them, ready to fire, and she refused to let him destroy another life. Beside herself with guilt, fear, anguish, along with many other frightening emotions not felt in such a long time, she fell to her knees ready to die as Keme aimed the barrel of his gun towards her. It was then that Martin struck out, delivering a killing blow onto the man.

When asked, Martin said he'd rather have her as an enemy, not Keme, then walked away with Kelly and her mother. Tearing up, Erin returned to her home. It had been Kelly who said he probably saved her because she saved them. Something she never thought of herself as doing.

Her hold over everyone was now completely broken, she could see it now. Eric was planning something, she knew it from the look in his eyes. She knew he was with Denise too, rightfully so. Perhaps he deserved to be with her. _"What have I done?"_

Erin sat on her couch in tears, trembling as Eric walked in with Denise to his right. He had a Gameboy in his hand, as per request. When she was a little girl, she and her best friend had been playing a game that she was never able to finish. She watched the man, Keme, run over her best friend with the car, then he dragged Erin away.

Now she was ready to accept her demise, maybe if she'd realized how shitty she'd become years ago when facing off with Vega, she would have let them kill her. It didn't matter now. "So you have it?"

"I do," Eric muttered. She scanned his body for the knife, she discovered recently that he had a knife with a highly potent poison on the tip. The one thing she wouldn't be able to do was cleanse herself of this poison. "You want it?"

"I'm ready…yes…" She took the console from him and began playing, losing herself in the game. Eric walked around the couch and Denise turned away. Erin started to laugh as she came to the end, finally finishing the game after so many years.

As the credits rolled on the screen, she closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. She could feel his arms sliding around her from behind. She was thankful he had enough generosity in him to let her finish the one thing that meant most to her, the one link to the past. She knew she didn't deserve his kindness, not after what she'd done to his family. To him. To Denise. When she opened her eyes, she looked to Denise and flinched when she felt the knife prick her body.

She started to smile as she felt the venom work its way through her veins. Her eyes froze on Denise and she watched with a broken heart as Eric put his arm around the woman's shoulders and started to walk out of the house. The gameboy in her hand fell to her right leg, and her head fell back onto the couch while her eyes gazed up at the ceiling.

She felt the poison burning through her body, making its way to her heart, to her brain, and spreading through every nerve ending in her. Her hands, her feet, she couldn't move them. The spirit of her childhood best friend appeared beside her, perhaps a vision of Erin's own dying mind. Regardless, it was truly a comfort.

Erin ran through every evil act of her life, sobbing as she began to realize how much like Keme she had become, and how many lives she'd devastated. It was her best friend's spirit which told her not to cry, told her that in the end she did save the very people she wanted to kill.

This was true. For Erin, it was the last act. She could shut her eyes, never to open them again, and be thankful that this was the end of her tortured heart. She did not scream when the poison invaded her heart and her brain. It had been a slow acting, burning poison, but one that would leave no traces. Her heart burst, her body twitched, and her head fell to the side.

Erin Lamont was no more.

* * *

Well Erin's done for. Now we go back to Trina and the others.


	41. Taking Chances and Growing Stronger

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N: Now we're back in the present day

* * *

Chapter 41 (Taking Chances and Growing Stronger)

Trina sat with Sinjin and Tori in her living room. With them were Salome and Bryan, whom she was surprised to see. After all, when she was told they were reaching out to her, she didn't believe it. She told her dad there was no chance they'd even show up if she agreed, that chances were slim. Now, she'd eaten her words quite clearly. Many things were changing for her.

Tori's friends were doing the best they could to deal with their own troubles, Beck and Jade were still separated obviously. Not much time passed, nearly a week. Robbie stuffed his puppet away, swearing off the thing and working on his own issues. Tori informed Andre that she just wasn't comfortable with the possibility of dating him right now, she couldn't forget about seeing that video. Andre and Robbie could see her sister's face, they should have known to do something or to stop the act, but they never did, and Tori couldn't wrap that around her mind. It was mostly Jade and Cat that hung around now.

"I'm glad you decided to at least talk to us again," Salome started. Salome sat in the recliner, her fingers twiddled together between her knees as she smiled warmly at Trina. Bryan was seated beside her legs on the ground, his back was pressed against the chair. "I know it takes some amount of trust, I just…I'm sorry we drifted the way we did. It wasn't fair to you."

"I guess my anxiety attacks were pretty stressful for you guys."

"It wasn't even that," Bryan commented, "Every one of us would have and should have been there for you because that's what good friends do." Trina felt her heart lift and leaned back and tried not to smile too much. What was it then that drove them away if not her emotional issues? "No friendship should be able to drop because of what other people are doing and saying. We just got tired of hearing all the comments from your sister's friends. When we moved, all we saw on your page was negativity from most of them just making fun of you. It's no excuse, but at the very least, we _are_ sorry that we just drifted apart like that."

"Well sometimes friends drift apart," Trina admitted. The others, such as Quentin, had just drifted away over time. She was sure Salome and Bryan had too. "It happens…" Salome looked to Sinjin and chuckled under her breath.

"Sinjin was the one who stuck by you through everything though…I'm glad to see that. You say you spoke with Lindsay too?"

"Briefly. She automatically assumed we were in a relationship."

"_Are_ you?" Salome's pitch rose and excitement spread over her face. Trina laughed while Sinjin proudly put an arm around her shoulders and brought his left leg up to rest on his right. Blushing, Trina slowly nodded, and Salome clapped. "I knew it! I knew it would happen." Salome raised an eyebrow and tapped her chin. "So are you happy?"

"Of course I am…Sinjin is…" She looked to Sinjin and brushed her hair over her shoulder. He smiled at her, melting her heart in a single motion. She closed her eyes and grinned. "He's one of the better men out there. I trust him."

"That's great. That is very important." Salome's eyes flicked towards Sinjin and she wagged her finger in mid air. "Now you'll take care of her. If you don't, I'll haunt your sleep." Sinjin laughed and Tori shook her head.

"He should be more worried about _me_ haunting him," Tori stated. She nudged Trina in the ribs, beckoning her. "Trina you didn't tell me your friends were this cool. How come you never introduced me to them?"

"You got caught up with those other people," Bryan replied for Trina. Tori sighed and lifted her shoulders.

"Yeah I figured as much. I never meant to let my friends drive all of you away, and I got caught up in the moment myself. We've been working on that." Trina rubbed her neck, laughing nervously. She _was _getting past her trust issues, though she was still concerned about various things. The one thing she always remembered in such a case was what her ancestor told her, to do what her heart said and to be willing to take risks There was still that hesitancy that would likely always be there. "Granted some of my friends I'm not sure if there's much future friendship with unfortunately…" Tori bowed her head and shrugged her shoulders. Salome looked concerned while Bryan merely shrugged.

"What are you worried about?" Salome inquired. "Surely you're getting along with them well?"

"Some of them have to seriously change before I can continue a friendship with them. Jade, on the other hand, is actually becoming a pretty good friend. I'm not really comfortable being friends with Beck, though…" Trina didn't like having to be the reason Tori decided not to stick around with some of her friends, but at the same time, it was nice that Tori was sticking up for her and what she believed and felt. Beck triggered something terrible in Trina's mind, the expression on her face and the fear she felt was evident, Robbie and Andre didn't do a thing for her, but they lied to her father and made her feel even worse. It was that knowledge that led Tori to her decision. "I'm willing to be friends with him though if he works on himself, but there's definitely going to be some limits. There are many things I'm not going to tolerate."

"That's great Tori, I'm glad you're drawing that line in the sand for you and your sister. If both of you can be happier, that's what's really important." Trina reached over and grabbed Tori's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Tori's face lit up and she moved her head to Trina's shoulder. Salome grinned for a minute and clapped her hands together. "So, Trina! Your new boyfriend got you a couple Shakira tickets?" Trina nodded and leaned over to kiss Sinjin's jaw.

"Yes."

"You're going to invite Lindsay, right?" She frowned for a minute, and leaned back, still unsure whether she wanted to do that. She hadn't put much thought to it, though Sinjin and Tori both seemed to think she ought to. "Come on girl, Lindsay was your best friend and she introduced you to Shakira. You can't _not_ invite her can you?"

"I don't know…" She didn't know what she was afraid of. She gave Salome and Bryan a chance to come and talk, and surely Lindsay was waiting for her to call her. "I mean Sinjin won the tickets and we're just now starting to date…" Sinjin moved his hands behind his head and chuckled.

"I have to take care of Courtney the day of that concert. She's latched onto me since I got home, Trina. I can always catch the concert on television. Lindsay's the one that wants to start over, I think she deserves to go to that concert with you. Besides, I'm not going to stand in the way of your best friend, I know my place."

"What does that mean?"

"Boyfriend."

"Yeah…"

"There will be other concerts, Trina. This is one of those moments where you and your childhood best friend can bond over a subject you two bonded over so long ago. Shakira. Not to mention, they're _backstage passes."_ Trina hummed lightly and looked towards him, still unsure what she should do.

"I don't want her to think I'm trying to buy her friendship again."

"Something tells me you wouldn't come across that way." She was grasping at straws really, she _wanted_ to invite Lindsay, but was so scared of the pain of losing her best friend that she didn't want to go through that again. She didn't want to fight with Lindsay, she didn't want to push the girl away or anything, and she was terrified Lindsay would fade away. Sinjin studied her fading expression and reached down, squeezing her hand. "Trina?"

"What if we get together and we fight again? What if she fades away, disappears? What if something goes wrong or I say something, do something that she doesn't like?"

"What if, what if, what if? Well…" He closed his eyes and brushed his hair back, chuckling softly. "If you ask me, I think that's a lot of dancing around. Let me put in _another_ what if for you to consider?" Her eyes drifted towards her hands, now fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. She looked back up to Sinjin and raised her eyebrows, eager to hear what he was to suggest. "What if you _didn't_ try? What if you didn't contact her? What if you never attempted to jumpstart your friendship with her again?"

"You two had a great thing," Bryan's right knee rose into the air and he hung his right arm over it. Trina looked towards him, feeling a wave of hope coursing through her. "You and Lindsay were almost as inseparable as you and Sinjin. If not more. If her biggest concern was you not standing up for yourself and she left because of the fighting, well things are different now aren't they? Not to mention, it was all in the past."

Tori propped her head onto her hand, resting her elbow on the armrest, "I agree with them Sis. You and Lindsay go as far back as I remember. If I were in her shoes, I'd want to make up with you." Tori chuckled and smirked a bit as Trina raised an eyebrow. "Okay so I was sort of in that situation…but Trina, let's not forget. You're the one that said 'okay' to letting Salome and Bryan come here. _You_ gave _Jade_ a chance…" She blinked a few times at her sister and looked away, jerking back slightly. Salome and Sinjin smiled knowingly and Bryan smirked at her. "Not only did you give her a chance, you and Jade are starting to become good friends."

"Yeah, I did…"

"So if that happened. Don't you think, of _all_ people, if you gave Jade a chance, that _Lindsay_ deserves that too? Jade, the one who treated you like dirt from day one, over Lindsay…self explanatory. I mean it's so much that I wonder why we're even _having_ this discussion at this point."

Sinjin reached behind Trina and high-fived Tori. She rolled her eyes and smirked as Sinjin pulled back and looked into her eyes, "I'd say you know what the answer is. You're just afraid of the unknown, and that's fine. I think you need to not only take a risk, but remember Lindsay _before_ you two split apart. You can have that again." She let her eyes fall towards the right as she thought on his words.

He was right, they all were, there was no sense in denying it because she didn't want to. She daydreamed of her younger years, when she was happier. She and Lindsay did almost everything together. Lindsay had always been there for her, through thick and thin. She'd gone through stressful times herself, Trina had forgotten this, and that's truly what started the entire fight. Around the time of their separation Lindsay lost a close relative and Trina hadn't reacted as she would have normally because she was dealing with Tori's friends. Both girls seemed insensitive to the other's situation, so a fight broke out and they broke up.

"I miss her, I do…"

"That's not a bad thing either, Trina." Her eyes shifted over in time to catch Sinjin picking her phone up from the end table. She locked her gaze onto the phone, waiting anxiously as his hand drew closer. "She left the ball in your court, didn't she?"

"Yeah she did. We got caught up with the whole ancestor rescue thing."

"Now you're free, Shakira's concert is in about a week, and everyone here seems to think you should try and reconnect with her. Do it through Shakira."

Tori leaned forward and put a hand to her shoulder, "Take the risk, Sis. What do you have to lose?" Trina chuckled vainly and closed her eyes.

"I'd rather not think of what I have to lose."

"Well you certainly could lose the chance to reconnect, Trina. She wants to, she put the ball in your court, so how long do you think she'll wait before getting broken up and thinking you don't want to talk to her?"

Trina felt her heart sink and she slowly turned her gaze to the phone resting in Sinjin's palm. He had the contact list already open and Lindsay's name was highlighted. All she had to do was strike the call button, and it would be set in stone. Her mind wasn't strong enough to talk her out of her heart. If she hit that call button, the internal struggle may finally end. Dare she take that risk? Was she ready for that step?

_"You got this, Trina. Are you really debating this?" _She closed her eyes and slowly reached for the phone, but set her palm on it while curling her fingers around Sinjin's hand. She looked into his soft, passionate gaze and felt her heart grow still and calm as the silence in the air. The phone beeped under her palm.

_Then came the ringing._

* * *

One last chapter left. Tell me your thoughts on this one


	42. Breaking Free

Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 42 (Breaking Free)

Shakira blasted on the stereo as Trina sped along the freeway. The top was down on her car, her shades were on, and the wind was whipping through her hair. The sun shined down on her, giving her face a lighter glow. She had light purple mascara, light blush, and her nails were painted a purple color. She was wearing a spaghetti strap shirt with a brown leather jacket over it. She also wore blue denim jeans that hugged her legs and thighs.

It felt like it had been forever before she could feel as free as she did in this moment. Nothing could faze her, nothing could scare her. Absolutely _nothing_ terrified her. _"I'm living my life, and nothing more."_ Her eyes peered over her shades as she saw her exit sign nearing. Her lips curled into an anticipated smirk as her left hand pat the door of her car.

When she arrived to the parking lot for the concert, cars filled the area for blocks. Luckily she was able to find a place close to the door. She blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing and popped it as she pulled into a freshly opened parking lot. Her eyes scanned the front gate, she may have arrived early. With that, she switched the top up and grinned as her vehicle started closing. She rolled the windows up and shut the engine off just enough to let the radio finish off the current song it was on.

As Shakira's song played, she beat her head and started singing along with her Latina idol. When the song finished, she shut off the car completely and stepped out. She reached up with her hands and fluffed her hair out behind her while taking in a deep breath. The fact that she was still here alone was a little discerning for her, but she was strong enough to deal with it. As much as she hated being in such a public place alone, she knew it wouldn't be for long.

_"Yeah let's not give Sinjin reason to worry. Daddy and Tori too." _ She locked the door and shut it. _"Hope Sinjin and Courtney are having a good time at the house." _She checked her phone, she had a couple text messages.

"Trina, is that you?!" She froze before she could hit the message and turned her eyes towards the side. It was a masculine voice she heard, one she could never forget. It sent chills down her spine, but also filled her with a brisk anger.

"No…not you, you can't control…" She spun around, fixating her glare upon her ex-boyfriend, Michael. "What are _you_ doing here? Dad's got a restraining order on you."

"I know, I know, I was just coming to see Shakira. That's all…" Michael still looked like a sleaze, his hair was greased back now and his face looked like that of a someone who spent every day in the sun. He was a bit more muscular than he had been in the past. She could feel his eyes scanning her, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"Somehow I doubt that. You never liked Shakira…" Did he know she'd be there? "Don't come a step closer. That's your last warning." He chuckled and swept his hand through his slick and shiny hair.

"Sounds like you toughened up since we last spoke. I just want to talk…I actually saw you on the freeway." She frowned and looked to her car, perhaps she needed to reconsider driving top down. Michael put his hands to his chest and took another step closer. Trina's head jolted towards him and her heart began to race as she took a step back. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to recant that order, maybe give me another chance?"

"Another chance?" She chuckled and leaned against the car. "Right…I've been giving quite a few people second chances, but if there's one person I'm _not_ giving another chance to…It's your dumb redneck hick ass."

"What?" His eyes flared up with rage and he quickly shook his head, chuckling cooly. He flashed a shiny grin, one Trina wished to wipe off his face. She couldn't look at him without feeling disgusted and sick to her stomach. He took another step towards her, close enough she could feel his breath on her. "You don't mean that."

"No, I do. Not only that, I have a very protective boyfriend, demonically protective little sister, a dad that isn't afraid to fire a gun at a boy…" She leaned back over the hood of the car as he leaned forward.

"They don't have to know, right?" Michael put his hand to her arm and her eyes widened. He started to lean forward and she let out a shout to alert those around her.

"I said _no!"_ She slammed her foot onto him, digging her heel into the soft flesh of his foot. His eyes widened and she delivered a swift blow from her knee into his crotch, causing him to stumble backwards and scream out.

"Motherfucker! You _bitch!"_ She moved upright and reached into her purse hanging from her shoulder and pulled out a bottle of pepper spray. Michael's eyes widened as she aimed it to his face. "You wouldn't dare…" Her eyes drifted past him and her lips curled into a smirk when she saw Lindsay moving towards the two of them, her eyes narrow.

"You remember also my dearest friend, right? The way overprotective one?" She wiggled her nose as Michael started to freeze up. "Turn around, asshole." Just as she said that, Lindsay tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around and she smirked.

"Remember me? The crazy one?"

Michael began to shake as he staggered backwards, "Oh shit." He didn't get far, as Lindsay dealt a swift blow to his jaw, causing him to fall onto the ground. Trina narrowed her eyes and slammed her foot on his chest, pinning him down as security guards finally came running.

She was empowered! Never before had she felt such a rush of adrenaline, and she loved it! As Michael was dragged off by the security guards, she turned to Lindsay, who had a wide grin on her face. "I was so waiting for you to call!" Lindsay chimed. She leaned back slightly and raised her eyebrows. "So are you okay? Michael was following you?"

"Yeah but I don't think he's going to screw with me again." Trina shrugged her arms forward and held onto her bright smile. "Doesn't matter, I'm pumped up. I can't wait to go in and meet Shakira. You?"

"Oh god yes!" They grabbed each other's hands and shrieked, bouncing up and down like a couple of young schoolgirls. Lindsay hugged her tight, laughing with glee. "I've missed you so much Trina!"

"I missed you too!" Lindsay gasped and leaned back, patting Trina's arms.

"Did I hear you tell him you had a boyfriend now? Sinjin, right?" She winked and Trina laughed.

"How do you even_ know_ that?"

"Girl, I've known you two would get together since day one. You're inseparable! Plus, what man wins tickets for a woman and willingly gives up his so she can take her friend? That's love."

"Oh come on Linds, he's not _that_ into Shakira. Not like us. But yes, we're officially dating now." Lindsay squealed and Trina covered her ears, laughing.

"Details girl, details!"

"Um…it was the middle of the night, I crawled in bed with him and cuddled close. Told him how I felt and we decided to be boyfriend-girlfriend." Lindsay raised an eyebrow and put her hands to her hips. Catching herself, Trina put up a hand and made sure to appease her friend. "Nothing happened, I promise. I just wanted to be with him…and he was asleep. We fell asleep,_ clothed_. Nothing at all happened. He's not that kind of man…"

"Well okay."

"Let's go meet Shakira." They hurried through the gates and were led by the bouncers towards the VIP location where Shakira awaited. Trina felt Lindsay take her hand and squeeze it, she squeezed back and smiled at her. "Thanks for coming, Lindsay."

"Thanks for giving me another chance. I can't apologize enough…"

"It's fine, we both were going through stuff. How is your grandfather holding up these years?"

"He's better than he was a few years ago." It was Lindsay's grandmother that passed away. The woman had a stroke, she was only in her seventies. It was devastating, and Trina wished so much that she could have been there for Lindsay at the time. "Can we not let random shit get in the way again? I couldn't stand losing your friendship."

"Me either. So it's agreed, no matter what, we work things out?"

"Yes."

"Girls?" They turned to the bouncer, who was holding a door open. Trina's heart began racing and Lindsay started to squeal once more. The excitement overwhelmed them, so Trina turned to Lindsay and started taking some deep breaths.

"Okay Lindsay, breathe. We got to breathe."

"Breathe?" Lindsay grinned, tears in her eyes. "Trina we're going to meet _Shakira_, in _person!_ Can you believe it?! If I didn't know Sinjin was your boyfriend, I'd kiss him!" Trina laughed and nodded rapidly.

"I know, right! That's what I said when he pulled out the tickets!"

"Girl! You're so lucky! I'm glad you decided to bring me along."

"I _know."_ She took a deep, calming breath, and smiled into Lindsay's eyes. "And there's no one else I'd rather share this with, because it _is_ our dream." It was for the longest time, they always wanted to see Shakira at a concert but never dreamed they'd meet her in person. Tears formed in her eyes and Lindsay gasped, moving her hand over her mouth.

"You're going to make me cry."

"I think I'll do enough of that for the _both_ of us." The bouncer cleared his throat and the girls quickly turned towards him, chuckling nervously. "Okay, arms at the side, take deep breaths, and-" Just as they were starting to calm down, Shakira herself stepped out of the door. She was wearing a similar jacket as Trina, only black. She had a blue shirt and a pair of black jeans. Trina's eyes widened, and both girls screamed loudly. "Oh my god I swore I wouldn't freak out!"

"It's okay, we're standing here in front of _Shakira!"_

"I know…" Shakira laughed and walked towards them, hugging them both.

"I'm happy to meet you two." Shakira pulled away and clasped her hands together. "Always happy to meet fans." Trina tucked her hair behind her ear and sucked in a deep breath.

"I am so sorry for the freak-out. It's just, you don't know how big this is." She put her arm around Lindsay's shoulders and grinned widely. "My best friend and I-" She took pause and glanced to Lindsay, who immediately began glowing from the comment. She chuckled softly and closed her eyes. "We're reconnecting after a few long years, and, well…my boyfriend won the tickets for us." Shakira folded her arms over and nodded, listening intently while smiling at the both of them. "Your music has been an inspiration to us, we literally bonded over your music when we were younger. You've also gotten me through some extremely tough times…"

"Oh?" Shakira rested her arms at her sides and lifted her eyebrows. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Yeah. Especially your songs like Antes De la Seis. That's the song that got me to open up to my boyfriend because…because isn't it about a girl opening herself up to her lover, knowing that she's leaving herself vulnerable and giving him the power to hurt her, but trusting him _not_ to?" Shakira's smile grew and she slowly nodded, which pleased Trina greatly.

"Yes. You know, as a singer, nothing makes me happier than to see my music touching the lives of my fans. Also…" She pointed to the two of them, "bringing friends together."

"Yeah, I mean we know literally all your songs by heart. I can't tell you how much I look up to you. You're my hero, my idol, my inspiration." She bounced a bit in place as Shakira glowed with pride. "You're a strong, independent woman and you inspire me to be the same. I've always had confidence problems because I've had a lot of traumatic experiences, but you're the one that got me through everything…"

"I see." Shakira hummed and tapped her chin. "Are you the girl that dropkicked the guy in the parking lot? Security told me some guy was messing with a girl and she brought him to his knees." Trina grinned and nodded her head.

"That was us. One of my ex boyfriends broke his restraining order and followed me off the freeway. Lindsay actually showed up and decked him."

"So you are a strong, independent woman. Very beautiful too. I believe I didn't catch your name…"

"Trina! I'm Trina Vega, and this is my best friend Lindsay."

"You two have an amazing friendship, I can't possibly imagine why you two would separate?"

"Things got difficult," Lindsay admitted, "We both had some rough times and fought…Not a day goes by that I regret leaving my friend though."

"Every time I thought to take a risk, to move forward, I'd talk myself out of it." Trina bowed her head slightly and Shakira pressed her lips together, humming as her eyebrows rose. "I'd fight my heart, always thought because of the things that happened to me that I was…_weak_, _broken…_damaged. It's your songs like _Illegal_, _Sale el Sol_, and others that have really helped me get out. I would find the song to match whatever mood I was in, and surprisingly, Illegal was the usual one…but riding along, I think your song, _No_ really describes where I'm at now."

"Why?" Shakira's curled finger moved an inch from her chin, then back to it.

"Because…I'm putting all things behind me. Driving here, I know that song was meant for a man, but…it made me think of those in the past that hurt me, as well as myself. The traumas, the pain, all the crap I had to put up with, and all the talking myself out of doing what I wanted to do. I sang along too, and it gave me strength. Like I was…able to say 'you know what? _No_, we're not going to do this. You're not going to interfere.' Like…I can move on now."

Shakira started to smile and she reached over, hugging Trina once more. Trina felt her body warm up and she closed her eyes, letting fresh tears of joy run down her cheeks. Lindsay smiled as well, reaching over to rub her back. "I'm glad you're able to do that, Trina. And you know something?" Shakira moved back, looked her in the eyes and held her hands at her shoulders. Trina held her breath and lifted her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"It takes an _incredible amount_ of strength to do that. To put it _all_ behind you, to say you're going to move on, to be _fearless_. You keep pushing forward, and you'll be great. Always follow your heart, do what makes you happy. What do you want to do with your life?"

"I'd like to go into law enforcement. Make sure nobody else has to go through all the crap I've been through."

"That sounds like a great goal. I hope you reach it." Shakira folded her arms and curved the corner of her lip up into a small smirk. "Let me see something. You say you know my songs by heart?"

"We do," the girls replied.

"You said _Illegal_ was one that meant the most to you at times. Why?"

"All my exes and my sister's friends, I know I've moved on from it all, but it does sometimes hurt."

"Let it off your chest. I want you two to sing that for me." Lindsay's jaw dropped and Trina did a double take. She couldn't believe Shakira just asked that! "Just a quick little bit, maybe the chorus."

"O-Okay…"

Lindsay squeezed her hand and lowered her voice to a whisper, "You open Trina."

"I will…" Trina closed her eyes, tears formed in her eyes as her heart began to pound. Her forehead scrunched and her eyebrows meshed together as she recalled all the neglect, including that of even her mother. She started out slow, calm, nearly whisper quiet as her words came out like shuddering breaths. "Who would have thought that you could hurt me…the way you've done it. So deliberate, so determined…" She squeezed Lindsay's hand, signaling her, and the girl opened up with a slightly higher tone voice.

"And since you've been gone, I bite my nails for days and hours. And question my own questions on and on."

Trina's heart broke a little as they continued through the song, coming across the verse she knew went out towards Tori and her friends. As well as a few of her boyfriends. Her tears ran along her cheek as she put forth every bit of emotion into the song. Her idol remained speechless, nodding as they sang. "I tried so hard to be attentive to all you wanted. Always supportive, always patient, _what did I do wrong?_ I'm wondering for days and hours, it's clear it isn't here where you belong…"

The chorus, Lindsay and Trina belted out together, making an impressive harmony together. "But you don't even know the meaning of the words 'I'm sorry'! You said you would love me until you die, and as far as I know you're still alive…You don't even know the meaning of the words 'I'm sorry', I'm starting to believe…it should be illegal to deceive…a woman's heart…" Her voice wavered on every word, every syllable brought her voice to points where it sounded as though she could break down and cry. However, singing it was incredibly freeing for her. As they wrapped it up, it felt almost like an entire weight was dropping from her chest.

She opened her eyes and quickly wiped them with her hands. Shakira applauded the girls and wiped away her own tears. "I could literally feel the power of your emotion as you sang. How do you feel?"

"I…" Trina looked to Lindsay with a smile, then back to Shakira. "I feel like I could do anything. Like I'm free, relaxed, calm…"

"I'm glad for you. By the way, can you girls sing Latina?" Trina raised an eyebrow and Lindsay's jaw fell once more. They both could sing Latina music well, Trina was a little better than Lindsay since she was part Latina, but she was the one that taught her friend the language.

"Yes…"

"The song you say 'frees' you, both of you…my song, _'No'_. I'm opening with that song. I would like you both to be up there with me as background singers for it." Trina was struck speechless, in awe, and Lindsay staggered backwards. "I was originally planning on offering it to my guests, but after hearing your story, I really am inspired. I know for sure I want you to be up there, sing that song, and free yourself from that past. Tell it goodbye, as you say. What do you say?"

"Y-Yes! Lindsay?" Lindsay was nodding so fast that Trina thought her head would fly off. Trina bounced, clapping her hands together. "Yes! It would be an honor!"

"I'm glad. So, come with me and we'll get you ready?"

"Yes!"

After nearly half an hour of setting up and trying to figure out if this was real, and pinching back and forth with Lindsay, they found themselves side by side on the stage next to Shakira. The lights above them shone onto their faces and they slowly reached over, grabbing one another's hand to keep them from freezing up.

Trina thought for sure it was a dream, but it was impossible, because she never once could have _dreamed_ she'd be on stage with her idol! Not to mention, this was a televised concert as well! She couldn't wait to go home and see the looks on her family's face, and Sinjin too, when they watched the concert.

Shakira moved forward on the stage, looking back at them over her shoulder and giving them a wink. They nodded back to her and she smiled, comforting them both. The woman turned to her audience and lifted her hand. "Hello Los Angeles, I'd like two introduce two very good friends of mine! Best friends, Trina and Lindsay!" She motioned to the two and the audience roared with applause and cheers.

Her nervousness subsided once she looked to Lindsay. This really _was_ her best friend, the one she would do anything and everything with. "I'm glad I called you," Trina whispered. "Let's never take our friendship for granted again, okay?"

"I agree." The two hugged and the audience cried out again their immaculate roar. When they parted, Shakira was once more speaking to her fans.

"Their story inspired me so much, and it is so _freeing_ to know that my music inspired not only their friendship, but their moving forward from all the hardships in their life. That is why I've selected my song _No_ for them to sing with me." Shakira tapped her foot on the floor before circling the girls and stopping behind them, standing with her head in between theirs. "The song may be for refusing a lover, but these girls gave me an interpretation that made sense to me, and hopefully, to you as well…"

The singer then moved around them, back to the front of the stage. Trina felt her eyes go misty and she tightened her grip on Lindsay's hand, earning a tense grip in return. "Refusing the past. The traumas, the hardships. Saying _no_ to that which brings you down, to the fears and the memories. Saying no to that which hurts you. Refusing to allow yourself to be pulled down. Moving forward."

Trina and Lindsay lifted the microphones in their free hands as Shakira did the same. They were to follow her lead, to sing along _with_ her. "Please close your eyes when you hear this song. Listen to the story, I hope it will move you as much."

The music started and Shakira motioned to the girls, indicating they would start before her. Trina closed her eyes and began on time, singing softly and wavering in her tone. Lindsay did the same, and Shakira soon joined them, facing them and singing along.

If this was a dream, Trina never wanted it to end. As she sang the song, she felt the ironclad grip, chains and shackles of her past and her fears drop off from her. Her heart lifted up. She became so into the song that she didn't even realize the tears streaming from her eyes, or the audience singing with them.

This was her moment, her moment with her best friend and her idol. Nothing, _nothing_ could faze her now. She was strong, she was independent, and she was _fearless_.

When the song ended, Trina opened her eyes and took a deep breath as the crowd cheered once more. Trina and Lindsay shared one last glance at one another, grinned and lifted their hands, clasped together, into the sky. Nothing was going to come between their friendship again.

No. This was it. Finally, she could be _happy_. No more tears, no more upsets. Just her, her sister, Sinjin, Lindsay, and their friends. That was all that mattered now. Stepping forward into the future. No. She was done being traumatized, afraid, and distrustful of those around her.

From this point on, nothing could ever hold her back.

* * *

Release. This is the final chapter, I hope you've enjoyed it. Everything in this chapter is definitely symbolic of something. The reason Michael showed up and Trina was able to push him away, being reunited with Lindsay, singing up on that stage with her idol and best friend. It is all symbolic of not only the end, but of Trina's finally being free from her past and her fears. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you thought of the confrontation with Michael, and what you thought of their time with Shakira.

As for the rest, that's the grand finale. Thanks to all who followed the story along, I couldn't have done it without you. Be sure to watch for future tales to come and check out some of my other works if you wish. Without further ado, I give you, The End.


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